Power Rangers: Shuriken Force
by Shade Penn
Summary: Adaptation of Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. Five broken teens are called to battle an inter-dimensional threat, learning along the way to not only come to terms with their own problems, but to have a better understanding of each other.
1. Episode 1: Ninjas Rising Part 1

**Episode 1: Ninjas Rising Part 1**

* * *

"I hope you all know that this is the first step to recovery, and the fact you're here is progress already."

The words were as heartfelt as could be, but all Dr. May received were looks mixed with incredulity and disdain. Dr. May had her work cut out for her, but still, they were here and that was the important thing. "So, how about we go around and introduce ourselves? I'll start. My name is Dr. Megan May and I majored in psychology at Cadence University-" from the corner of her eye, the only male of the group stiffened. There was a note of speculation, but kept on talking- "I like helping people, and going bike riding."

There was a lengthy silence after she was finished, but as tense as it was, Dr. May kept her expression serene. It was only the first group session, and opening up to strangers wasn't easy. Dr. May though couldn't help glancing at her wristwatch. Only fifteen minutes left.

Eventually, a young girl who couldn't be more than seventeen shifted in her seat, eyes also shifting around as she twiddled her thumbs, her shoulders hunched. "U-um," she mumbled, "my name's Kit Sakura. I like watching web shows." Her lips tightened and she tucked in even closer to herself.

Beside her, a dull-eyed woman of twenty blinked slowly. She shrugged one shoulder as the sleeve of her oversized sweater covered her hand. "Not like this matters or anyone cares," she muttered, "but I'm Ann Taylor. Don't like much of anything."

To Dr. May's immediate left and sitting beside Kit, a stern-looking nineteen-year-old that had pushed her seat back when everyone assembled for the group glared at Ann. "That's gonna be real helpful here." She sneered, but Ann just blinked again.

Dr. May though did intervene. There could be no antagonism. "Now, it's not healthy to put down others. Please, try to be constructive."

The stern woman stared back at her. Her eyes narrowed, and she scowled. "I'm Lila, and I _constructively_ think she's being stupid."

Dr. May kept back a sigh. The fact Ann didn't get mad or even irritated was troubling, and spoke to a certain level that she even seem to care for much. That wouldn't be good. "Moving on," she said briskly and smoothed down her clipboard, "who'd like to go next?"

A girl that took center seat beamed as she waved her hand, her eighteen-year-old features young and fresh-faced. May nodded, immensely relieved that someone was at least _acting_ happy to be here. The young woman immediately began in a chipper tone, "I'm Zara Kim, I like make-up, shopping, and super cute animals!" she clasped her hands and swayed her in her seat with a dreamy look in her eyes. "They're like, _sooo_ adorable and stuff."

Kit stared at her, but it was Lila's scowl that made had May interfering again. "Okay, thank you for that Ms. Kim." she said calmly. She looked to their last group member, the young man who on second glance was quite scruffy-looking.

He glared back defiantly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black bomber jacket. He was the epitome of rebellion at the age of nineteen-a very peculiar age to try out being a rebel. "Name's Joe." He didn't offer anything else, and he glared even harder at everyone like he was challenging them. The only one who glared back was Lila.

May smiled, even if on the inside she was beginning to get worried. Could these five learn to trust each other to get along for this? They would likely benefit more from one-on-one therapy, but that they all came here of their own free will. _'That counts for something.'_ She glanced at her watch. Ten minutes left. "Today's session was supposed to be a meet-and-greet, but I can understand if all you want anyone to know is your name for the remainder of the time we have.

"Though remember, our next meeting is on Monday at 3pm and I hope to see you all back once more." Dr. May smiled. "And remember, it's a good thing that you're here."

* * *

In an underground room, clean steel walls and high tech equipment with many blinking lights lit up the area, while a large screen was held above a console covered in many keypads that functioned as buttons. On the screen was a live feed of a park-people milled about in the sunny day; dog walkers, parents with their children, couples enjoying the nice weather.

All of them looked so happy and content.

And Foxglove held no remorse for taking that joy away.

He was tall and humanoid, but that was as far as he went to being remotely human-he was white and yellow-furred, two long ears atop his head, and a white fox-like mask which covered the top half of his face. Perhaps it had been simply a joke to give him such a name, but it was certainly on the nose.

As he looked at the screen, Foxglove saw nothing but the perfect mixture of terror and panic that he would reap. Loathing and disgust coursed through him as he couldn't look at it any longer, and set about with putting his plan into motion.

This dimension was plagued with so many invasions that one more wouldn't be anything new. He studied what he could from earth's so easily available records and knew he needed to give his plan some _scale_. One city concentrated with creatures wouldn't work, not for the requirement of energy he needed to collect.

Foxglove walked up to a case filled with several dozen crystalline stars. He picked up one and after a brief moment of examination, he nodded to himself in satisfaction. The stars were finely crafted and he could feel the dark energy coursing through them. These would not be at fault, should things in _some_ way go astray. With that in mind, he reluctantly called in the Ninja 4 (of 5). His falcon, rhino, badger, and ant themed generals would not have been his first choice, but he wouldn't let that deter him.

They had better not screw this up though; he wouldn't be a laughingstock again.

Rhinex crossed his arms. "You called, boss?"

Foxglove narrowed his eyes, but he gave no outward reaction beside an icy, "I am not your boss."

Badgerill grinned mockingly at him. "Would you prefer _your highness?"_

Though 'boss' irked him, Foxglove detested the faux respect even more. He'd gone so long without a derisive moniker, and hearing it again reminded him unpleasantly of the scathing comments said behind his back at the royal court until Celandine got his father to send him to earth years ago. It was a fool's errand to be here, not helped when these four screw ups had been sent to be his 'disciples.'

It could be worse; Foxglove could have been called _back_. There was still work to be done here, and being recalled wasn't an option.

"Sir," Fallon pulled Foxglove's attention from Badgerill to him, "what did you need us for?"

Foxglove breathed in deeply. He'd dealt with others much more infuriating than these four, and he they were barely worth a disdainful glare. "I have found ideal locations to gather fear and panic for Convallaria's energy crisis, so listen carefully for I will only explain this to you once." He noted that they showed no reaction to their home dimension's poor state, and grudging approved for them keeping composed.

Foxglove held up the star already in his hand. "Trigger this with your soul core and not only will it release the Hoaxer within, but the creature will spread panic and chaos to these humans." He gave all four of his generals a hard stare, hammering it in that this was not going to be negotiable. "Who wants to go first?"

Rhinex, Badgerill and Antioc glanced at each other. While their opinions of humans was the same derogatory view Foxglove had, they also knew that this dimension had a habit of 'Power Rangers' showing up and mucking up all previous attempts to invade this Earth.

Fallon was the only one who remained, well, unruffled for lack of a better but no less groan inducing word. "And if there are any uninvited guests?"

"I have taken that into account." Foxglove said. "Even if you are intercepted, no Ranger will be able to stop this plan."

"You sound pretty confident." Antioc muttered. "I bet that's what all the others thought too."

Foxglove gave him a cold stare. "I have watched and learned in my exile to this realm. I know what I'm doing; do _not_ test me." His tone then turned sickeningly sweet, allowing himself to grin severely at the ant. "Unless you'd prefer me to show you how sharp my claws have remained."

Antioc backed down as Fallon stepped forward. "I'll do it, sir."

Foxglove handed him the star and stepped to the side of the console. He put his hand under a crevice and the wall slid open to reveal dozens of long tubes all interconnected with wires and a translucent cable. The cable slid further back into the wall, while at the front it was coiled like a fire hose with a clamp in the shape of an armband. "Don't let go of the Star Crystal; you'll cut the feedback connection which will send the energy the monster collects to the tubes."

He hooked the clamp around Fallon's forearm and glared at the screen. "The creature will appear there; inform me should something go wrong. I must check with Waspina about her progress."

"Why did _she_ get the solo job?" Antioc questioned.

"Perhaps it's because she showed the deftest hand for this… _delicate_ task." Foxglove said meaningfully, but none of his generals could be quite sure what he meant. "And she has the patience needed to deal with the long term end game." He added, and took his leave through a different exit that resembled a mundane human door.

It was one of the details that made Badgerill and Antioc so derisive towards Foxglove; he'd grown _accustomed_ to living in this squalor. At least he didn't make them get used to it; well, most of them. Antioc gripped, but he certainly wouldn't want to have whatever job made it necessary for Waspina to spend her days endlessly above ground.

Fallon had no time for petty thoughts. He had a task to complete, and he would do it well enough that it got them back into King Manchineel's good graces. The crystal had the king's energy signature, dark and heavy, and Fallon concentrated on his own core. His power seeped into the crystal, casting an eerie white glow.

He felt a tug on his core that had him tensing up, but when he saw the screen, he allowed himself to smile.

It was the beginning of the end for this dimension.

* * *

When Dr. May said time was up, Kit was immensely relieved even if she hadn't been the first one out of the building. That had been Zara, who was still smiling despite trying to get Ann to speak up and failing as the other woman gave her a bored stare.

While Kit didn't learn much about her group, the fact she managed to get through it without bolting was a win in her book. And boy had she wanted to run; being in public was so much harder than it used to be. She hoped her dad thought this was progress too when she told him tonight. He wasn't around much, but he'd been a great support ever since the accident.

While Zara was trying to talk to Ann, who only looked around like she couldn't hear her, Kit gazed at the park across the street and the shortcut she could use to get home, but when she looked back at the others, she squeaked as Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He glanced at her, but Kit looked down at her shoes. Kit didn't want to say anything, but her nose wrinkled as a breeze blew smoke in her face and it really irritated her.

"Hey!" Lila's sharp voice cut through the air like a knife. It appeared she wasn't the only one annoyed. Kit saw Lila glaring at Joe, her expression agitated and angry. "You might be able to stand that disgusting smell, but some of us don't want your second hand smoke."

Joe didn't even glance at her. "Then turn the other way."

Lila scowled at him, but before she could say anything more-screams erupted in the air. Zara jumped while Ann tilted her head. Kit whirled around and ran to the corner of the platform. She gasped as in the park she saw dozens of strange… _creatures_ were chasing after people who tried to get away. The Nightlings were wearing all-black outfits and fox-like masks but they moved with an eerie speed which couldn't be human. The screams from the people were a shot to the heart, and Kit found the other four were staring at her, most likely for information on what the heck the noise was.

She knew her voice was shaky, but putting up a front wasn't the first thing on her mind. "There are monsters attacking people."

Zara furrowed her brow. "What?"

"We have to do something!" Kit said.

Lila crossed her arms. "We're not Power Rangers; it'd be stupid to get involved."

"At best we'd end up hurt, at worst we'd be killed." Ann muttered.

Joe blew out a puff of smoke and crushed his cigarette under his shoe. "Are you always such a ray of sunshine?"

Kit cringed as she could hear the screams continue to echo in her head. "I don't care!" she blurted, and the force of the outburst caused the others to stare at her in surprise; it was the most passionate they'd heard her get, especially since she'd been nothing but a timid child before. Kit tensed up, but couldn't let it keep her back. "People are going to get hurt, and whether I do doesn't matter. The point is I tried, and that'll be good enough for me. You can go home and ignore it, but I can't!"

With that, Kit bolted for the park. Zara blinked, but her expression hardened and she sprinted after the other girl. Ann jerked her head away, lip curling back.

Joe pocketed his pack with a scoff. "Like I'm gonna let these creeps off the hook for interrupting my smoke break."

He jogged down the steps and Lila scowled after him. "Yeah, you and your mucked up lungs will do _soo_ much better!" she shouted and sprinted to the park as well.

Ann stayed put, but even she couldn't keep her gaze from turning to the park forever.

* * *

Arriving on the scene first, Kit gazed around for a moment before immediately knocking into one of the creatures terrorizing a family. "Go, run!" she shouted and the family of four ran for the cars parked along the curb of the park fence. An elbow struck her in the ribs and she was thrown back. Kit gritted her teeth, but fear shot through her as she realized the blade the creature held was _real._

Kit rolled out of the way, narrowing escaping the blade being lodged where she'd been lying moments before. The black-clothed creature tugged the ninjato, and Kit quickly tucked her legs back and struck out. She caught the foot soldier in the side, knocking it down and somersaulted back onto her feet.

There were joints in her legs that ached from disuse, but Kit was just happy she could still do that at all anymore.

She turned, only to freeze as another creature had snuck up on her. Before Kit got skewered, the Nightling convulsed and dropped to the ground, revealing Lila with a Taser in her hand.

Kit blinked. "You carry that around with you?"

"And go around unarmed? Please." Lila snorted. She shifted her gaze for a moment. "And I guess your silly speech got to me. It got to most of us really."

Kit's eyes widened and she took another look around the park, a better look this time. One of the creatures got slammed into a tree by Zara kicking it in the back, while another was struck over the head by Joe with a loose picnic table plank.

Ann wasn't anywhere to be found, but Kit chose to overlook that.

"What's going on? Can't you deal with a few wretched humans?!" Kit jerked back as a different monster stalked into sight. It was bulky and had an almost weasel-like quality to it, with two saws protruding from its wrists. It scowled and levelled one of the saws at them. "Perhaps you all need lesson about minding your own business!"

Joe spat at the ground. "Show us what you got, you walking cheese grater."

"So tough," it said mockingly, "but I can see what you're scared of-what you're _all_ scared of."

Joe froze, his brow furrowing as a sheen of sweat appeared. He could hear the jeers, the terror shooting through him as he could feel the stinging from the scar on his cheek with such intensity it felt as though it could re-open.

Kit felt dread welling up inside her heart, constricting her breathing as she heard the sound of glass breaking and screeching tires in her ears.

Lila was ashen, her hands shaking as bile rose in her throat and her legs wobbled. Disgust and loathing coursed through her.

Zara had a blank look on her face while standing utterly still. Inside she felt a hollowness in her stomach and a sudden pain deep inside that had her screaming out loud as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Kit gritted her teeth as Zara collapsed to her knees. "C-cut it out!"

The monster narrowed its eyes. "How _not_ -cute, you still think you're being brave. Perhaps a more direct approach will get your fear flowing." It raised one of its saws further, and Kit felt panic set in as it stormed towards them.

She hated how she couldn't move, that she felt so useless-

A horn honk blared out, and the monster whirled around just as a red blur shot into view and a slash of yellow came down onto the front of it, causing sparks to fly as the monster went sailing back. Kit felt the fear gripping her heart loosen, and stared in awe at the person who'd saved them.

It was a Red Ranger, wearing a distinctive gold sash with a star design on the shoulder of it. Kit looked behind the Ranger, and was amazed to see Ann sitting behind the wheel of a jeep.

"You're here!"

Ann grimaced. "I guess you're speech got to me."

Lila rolled her eyes, though she wouldn't dare admit that she was still shaken. "You too, huh?"

"How is this possible?!" The monster snarled as it got back to its feet. "There aren't supposed to _be_ any Rangers here!" The Ranger didn't reply as in a flash a star based in gold and multiple colored tips appeared in his hand. It caused the monster to freeze up this time, stepping back almost fearfully. "W-where- _how_ did you get that?" The Ranger attached the star to his ninjato and spun it until the star turned red. "Answer me, thief!"

"How's this for an answer?" The Ranger retorted and brought the sword down into an arc, creating a fire stream that sliced through the air until it collided with the monster. It was bowled over and the Ranger shot forward, sword raised to finish it-when one of the saws cut across the chest and the monster ducked back as the Ranger staggered.

"I don't know how you got such a crystal, but you'll pay for this!" It snarled before it disappeared in a flash of light.

Kit felt a different sort of dread form in her stomach as the Ranger nearly collapsed into a kneel, ninjato sinking into the ground for balance. The suspicion that formed when the Ranger had spoken only grew as the suit wavered and in a flash there was a dark-haired man in place of the Ranger.

"Hey, mister, I think you need to see a doctor!" Zara said worriedly.

"It's okay." The man said as he got to his feet. He smiled weakly at them, but it looked more like a grimace. "I am a doctor."

Joe stared. "Wakahisa?" he asked incredulously. "How the hell did you become cool?" University professors were supposed to be stuffy and uptight in his mind, not awesome Rangers.

Lila crossed her arms. His reveal instantly put her on guard. "I wouldn't call that the right question to ask." She said snidely and Joe glared at her.

Kit cut in quickly, trying to keep her heart from racing frantically. "I-I think the better thing to ask is what's going on?" She tried not to sound hurt, but it still showed on her face and it caused Wakahisa to glance away for a moment.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, there was a hard glint in them. "I need to know something right now. What I'm going to say isn't going to be farfetched given how Earth seems so danger prone, but this is important. I can't do this by myself, as you've seen," he said self-deprecatingly, "so, I'm going to need a team. Any volunteers?"

Kit's eyes widened. "Become…a Power Ranger?"

Zara was practically vibrating with excitement. It was a good distraction from the fear the monster caused her. "I'm in! This is going to be awesome!" she pumped a fist into the air.

Lila huffed. "I didn't follow just to be a quitter. Count me in." She'd be keeping a suspicion eye on the man though.

"And I really just like pissing you off." Joe said snarkily, and Lila glared at him this time.

Ann narrowed her eyes for a moment. "We're all going to die," she stated bluntly, "but I knew that even as I drove Wakahisa here." She shrugged. "I'm in too."

Wakahisa glanced down at Kit, who squared her shoulders. "I…I guess we're all in, Dad."


	2. Episode 2: Ninjas Rising Part 2

**Episode 2: Ninjas Rising Part 2**

* * *

The air was tense as Koyuki Wakahisa led the new Ranger team into his command center, a room refurbished from a spare bedroom-there were no windows, and the room had a sterile quality to it with its clean walls and desks full of gadgets and a large television screen rigged to be compatible with a computer keyboard and the Rangers looked around with fascination.

While everyone had been able to fit into Ann's jeep, albeit in an extremely cramped way, this room felt more open despite looking to be the epitome of boxed in to claustrophobic levels.

Kit now had the answer to the thing she'd wondered ever since moving in. " _This_ is why you didn't want me to come in here? I thought it was something embarrassing like you had a collection you were ashamed of."

Joe whistled as he looked over the room more thoroughly. "And here all my dad used our spare bedroom for was a home gym."

Lila's arms were crossed, having changed very little from that pose since being in the car, and she only looked more agitated. "We're here for a reason, remember? What's the deal with the gruesomes?"

Wakahisa nodded. "Yes, that is why I brought you here." He cleared his throat. "A few months ago I was on business for the university. I had been invited to check out a recent engineering program we could implement. While I was there, I found a strange creature which looked like a fox wearing a mask. It was trying to hook up a large shuriken which I heard it call the 'Shadow Star' to the super computer.

"Now, while I don't claim to be the most knowledgeable person around, I knew enough from how many threats this world has from outer forces that whatever it was doing wasn't good. And my suspicion was proven correct when a portal opened up from the star and five _more_ monsters showed up." His tone didn't rise, but he was clearly shaken by the experience. "I waited until they went to round up pieces of tech in the room-for what I still can't be sure-and I took the star.

"From there I did my best to study it and found that it was not made from a metal of this world. It was an advanced piece of technology, something I could barely understand at first, but through a few trial and errors I was able to make more discoveries on my own."

As Wakahisa grabbed a simply long brown box, Joe crossed his arms this time. "That monster, was it one of the creatures who came through the portal?"

The man sighed heavily. "No. The other monsters looked like a falcon, a rhino, an ant, a badger, and a bee. If this is a new monster, I fear that somehow they have been able to retrieve more of them."

"Along with those ninja creatures." Lila muttered.

"And this is why I want you to be Power Rangers." Wakahisa stated as he opened the box, revealing four ninjato in the same shape and color as his, with four distinctly shaped shurikens of varying colors lying beside them. "I crafted these after I stabilized the Red Ranger one. These are your Shuratos-they will serve as your weapon and your morphers. Place the shurikens on the handle, and press the red button and you will transform." He handed each of them a color and a shurato.

Ann gazed between her sword and her yellow shuriken with a bored look, but beneath that there was a slowly stoking fire that was burning through her indifference. Zara eagerly examined her shurato and 'oohed' and 'aww-'ed over her white shuriken. Lila kept held the sword at an angle where she didn't have to touch Wakahisa even accidently, and held the blue shuriken between her fingers like it was diseased. Joe received the pink shuriken, and he gave the other women a challenging glare.

Only Lila stepped up to meet it. "I'm sure you'll look very nice in a dress."

"Yes!" Zara added sincerely. "You probably will-you have a very good posture and your 'frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn' look is very cool!"

Joe felt the venom he was going to spit retreat. While it annoyed him that his scruffy appearance was 'cool', it at least went along with what he was trying to establish. "I know I'll look good." He puffed up haughtily. "Better than you probably would." He added with a pointed sneer at Lila, who growled back at him. "And for the record, it's not a _dress_ ," he emphasized, "it's a _combat skirt."_

Kit, who'd been watching and waiting with a sense of foreboding, immediately jumped in at that. She felt her heart flutter. "You watch RWBY too? What season are you on? I just finished catching up on season three."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Joe said as he gave her a very pointed 'shut up' glare. "And weren't you shyer earlier?"

Kit flushed. "I just like RWBY, that's all." She felt self-conscious again, tucking into herself as she realized that even if someone shared her interest they wouldn't want to talk about it with _her_.

"Look what you did, idiot!" Lila snapped. In the background, Ann tilted her head as she leaned her sword against her shoulder. She might be starting to care, but it wasn't enough to get involved with their petty squabbles. Zara just looked concerned in general.

"Please, save your fighting for the outside." Wakahisa said coolly. "My equipment is sensitive and I don't want to explain having to go to the school for supplies." He added and took out a red shuriken from his pocket. "Now, due to my exposure with pre-stable technology, it took a toll on my physiology. I was nearly killed early today, and I can admit when it's time to pass along things." Wakahisa put the shuriken in Kit's grasp, his hand squeezing hers. "I know you'll make me proud."

Kit's eyes widened, and though of course she was happy that her father chose her, there was an undeniable fact to it. "It's because I'm your daughter, isn't it?" Wakahisa didn't answer, which was telling by itself. Kit didn't want things to be this way, and she gave all her new teammates a serious once over-even if mainlining eye contact had her cringing inside. "I don't want you to follow me because of this. I'll gladly trade if that's what you all want."

There was a stunned silence, but after a moment Joe snorted. "I don't want your color. Everyone knows that Red Rangers have targets on their backs."

Ann nodded, offering a slight opinion on the matter. "It's only going to bring trouble. Not worth it."

It wasn't something Kit expected, and realized that her worries of nepotism now paled in comparison to the fact they were _right_. She'd need to brush up on her Ranger history, but Red tended to get the largest lock on them as the leader if nothing else. "Wanna trade?" she offered again, this time more shyly and self-conscious.

Lila shook her head, but Zara reached out to grasp Kit's hands-surprising the younger girl. "You'll do great-or at least I think you will."

It didn't help that much, but it was honest at least. Kit sighed and smiled nervously. "I guess so. But I promise I'll do the best I can as your team leader."

"That's the spirit." Wakahisa said a bit stiltedly, as though he were still getting used to offering platitudes. Kit would take what she could get though, especially as her father immediately turned away to pull open a drawer, and took out five wristbands that looked a lot like digital watches. "Now, these will be your communicators, which I have modified from watches as you can no doubt tell, and it will be able to summon your shuriken if they're not on hand."

Zara blinked as the words sunk in, and she was the first one who got it. "Oh, does this mean we can teleport? Because that would be so cool!"

Joe raised a brow. "And if you can, why haven't you patented it yet-you'd make millions."

Wakahisa glanced away again, his gaze distant before looking at all of them once more, a faintly amused curve tugging at his lips. "The implications of teleportation have not been lost on me, but I wouldn't want it to become mass-produced just yet. While travel could be reduced, it would also be possible to use it for criminal activities that the world doesn't need."

Ann narrowed her eyes. "People can be so awful." It sounded less like a statement and more like a stone cold fact in her bleak tone.

"And I have nothing to say to that." Wakahisa said lightly. "Though I'm sure today has been a rough, so I won't keep you any longer. It is my wish that you do not suddenly decide this is a mistake, but I will understand should you change your mind."

Lila glanced down at her shurato and gave Wakahisa a suspicious glare. "So if we just up and say we don't want this anymore, you won't say boo and just let us go?"

Wakahisa didn't appear to take the suspicion to heart. "If that's what you want."

Lila didn't look convinced, and she left without another word, but tellingly still took the shurato and shuriken with her.

Joe put his shuriken into his pocket and his sword into his jacket. "After today, I really need a smoke." Kit grimaced at his words as he left, but kept quiet.

Zara's eyes widened, and she practically jumped when she checked the time on her cell phone. "Oh no, I'm gonna be late for my shift!" she waved haphazardly in her rush for the door. "Gotta go, nice meeting you!"

Ann lagged behind for a moment, her eyes blank, but she nodded sharply and took her leave without a word as well.

Kit and Wakahisa were all that was left behind, and Kit found the constraint of being in a crowd lessen. It was just the two of them, like it had been for the last little while. She lets her anguish and sadness show on her face. "You didn't trust me enough to tell me, did you?"

Wakahisa's professional demeanor shifted, and he allowed himself to reveal how awkward he found this whole thing by his expression. "I was going to tell you everything, but I didn't know how to word it-just saying it would feel too blunt, and despite my absence in most of your life, you are not a stranger to me and deserve more care than that. I wanted you to be ready to receive the news, given how things have been for you."

It was perhaps the most the most he'd ever come to saying he loved her, which just showed Kit how strange whatever arrangement her parents had was. It didn't do much for her self-esteem, but still gave her some comfort in the little nugget of affirmation he gave. He was all she had left after all.

"I'll go get started on dinner," Kit smiled weakly, "but now if you try to miss supper I know where to find you, right?"

Wakahisa's lips turned up at the corners of his mouth just slightly. "Only make sure to knock." He paused as if remembering something. "And remember, you have your summer school catch-up starting on Monday. So be sure to get lots of rest over the weekend."

Kit nodded and took her leave as well. Inside she faltered though-did he really have to make the moment about school?

* * *

Perhaps it was with more surprise that Foxglove should have felt, but when he returned from his report with Waspina to find that his control room was still in one piece, well, it was shocking. Everyone but Fallon certainly behaved like they wanted to lash and thrash about. Antioc stalked around the room, his form bristling. Rhinex stomped his foot on the floor, but in the direction of the wall rather than aimed at the delicate equipment. And Badgerill was growling nondescriptly, which only included a scathing glare when he saw Foxglove entering the room.

Fallon though was leaning against the wall, hands on his knees as he tried to regulate his breathing. Since he was the only one not currently a spewing mess, Foxglove demanded an explanation for what was going on.

For his part, Fallon kept his voice tightly under control and only the barest of his fatigue seeped through. "It started out well enough-people were running away, screaming and I could feel the fear energy coursing through me to the tubes." He faltered then, his expression a mix of loathing and scorn that could have been either directed outwards or inward. "But several foolish humans tried to engage with the foot soldiers. They were paralyzed when Chain Weasel got to them, but then…then a _Red Ranger_ appeared."

Foxglove stared at him. _"What?"_

"It was a Power Ranger!" Badgerill snarled. He pointed an accusatory finger at Foxglove. "You said Rangers wouldn't be a problem, but this one was and the thief that you let steal the Shadow Star!"

"I did not _let_ him steal it," Foxglove said coldly, "my attention turned away for a moment and he must have snuck in. I have been trying to locate him, but now that we know he's a Ranger it will be just a bit easier to find him."

It occurred to them that this was likely Waspina's mission, to locate the thief and retrieve their home's stolen star-it was a marvelous mix of magic and technology, and it made all of them seethe to know a human of all things was using it against them.

Foxglove brought their attention back to him, his tone turning sterner. "Now, where's the energy you collected?"

Antioc spat on the ground, jerking his head to the tubes lying beside the console. There were three, all filled with a swirling dark liquid. "There's your precious energy. What you failed to mention was just how _draining_ the conduit process was-Fallon practically collapsed when Chain Weasel came back."

Fallon stiffened. "I did not collapse-I was merely taking a moment to gather my wits."

Foxglove hummed, but his posture made it clear he didn't actually care. "And here I was told you four were 'resilient.' I see that your reputation was greatly exaggerated."

Badgerill stepped forward threateningly. "Listen you spoiled-!"

"That's enough." Fallon said firmly, his tone never rising, but it cut through the tension and Badgerill backed off, his anger shifting to concern as he looked at the falcon.

"Sir, you should really rest and recover your strength."

Foxglove watched impassively, but took note of the weakness shown to him and proceeded to twist it. "Yes, Fallon, why don't you go rest up? I'm sure one of the others could take your place by powering Chain Weasel."

Badgerill looked about ready to volunteer, but Fallon was proud if nothing else and silenced him with a steen glare. "I will be fine; there is no need to think being a bit winded will stop me. Once my energy is up to par again, I will resume my station."

Foxglove nodded as he hefted the tubes into his arms. "See that you do, or you're 'employment' will be shorter than you expect."

* * *

Trying to go about a normal day when you not only battle monsters, but are recruited to be Power Rangers, and yet as Friday passed into Saturday, that's exactly what the new Rangers were trying to do. They'd spent the previous day worrying about another attack, but even now they couldn't let their guard down.

In a one bedroom apartment on the northern side of town, Ann is stalking around her kitchen, pacing her breath as the bills on the table made her feel heavy and weird. It always got this way-Ann could pretend that nothing mattered, that she wasn't still dependent on her parent's money, but then the bills would arrive and make her skin itch irritably.

She wouldn't move back home though, that wouldn't solve anything. It hadn't the first time.

Ann glanced down at the yellow shuriken lying next to the shurato on her kitchen counter. Kit's words echoed in her head, and she could hardly rationalize that she'd actually fallen for it. There was a way out, but then again taking that option would only leave her with a profound sense of guilt already on top of everything else.

Her phone rang out in the silence, and after making no move to answer it, the voice mail picked it up. The younger, more childish tone made Ann flinch. It was her sister Mavis.

"I know you're there, sis." Mavis sighed sadly. "I hope you'll listen though. I love you, don't forget that, and I'm so happy you're trying to get better. Maybe…" her voice reflected a tentative optimism, "maybe soon you'll let me see you. I miss you." The message ended and the beep sounded, leaving the apartment quiet once again.

Ann wished Mavis would stop calling-she always felt a strange churning in her gut, something that Ann hesitated to put a name to. Now she had an excuse though to continue keeping Mavis at arms-length; her gaze landed on the shuriken.

She'd be too busy fighting monsters.

* * *

On the eastern side of Cadence, in a room above a mechanics shop, Lila was sitting at her desk and staring down at her sword and shuriken set. She has her head resting on her elbows, her brows furrowed and the thought heavily at the forefront of her mind is whether she should have taken the Ranger job.

No, that wasn't quite right. She didn't regret taking the job, the problem was Wakahisa. Lila didn't know him or Kit, but she'd trust Kit to be her leader first than _him_.

Lila frowned deeply. Kit… There was something about the girl that irked her though, something uncomfortably familiar and it made Lila angry at herself that she couldn't place-that something in her head _refused_ to place it.

She groaned to herself, sliding her fingers through her hair and rubbed her temples. It was barely ten a.m. and she already had a headache.

* * *

While Zara lived on the western end of the city, she worked on a diner near the center of Cadence-in a building that was two blocks from Kit's house in fact, but that is for neither here nor now- which had her taking a bus every weekend for her morning shifts, and today being such a day.

Zara flitted from table to table throughout the morning, always with a cheerful smile and a warm voice. She realized a while ago mornings weren't for everyone and wanted anyone who walked in to leave feeling just a bit better about their day.

A cry rang out, and the sound was like a shot to Zara's heart. She froze, her smile tightening as her hands shook. She slowly looked up at the customers, her eyes zeroing in on a young couple with a baby and a toddler sitting at a booth near the front. The infant was being fussy, kicking and squirming as the father tried to shush it.

The notepad in Zara's hands had all but been ripped in half by the time she remembered where she was. She took several deep breaths and tore her gaze away from the family, disgust and longing filling her heart in an unpleasant cocktail that made her want to throw up.

"Kay, take over my tables." She said as she got a new paper slip pad. "I've got yours."

The other waitress looked in the direction Zara had freaked out in, and sighed quietly. "You can't keep doing this every time-"

"I know." Zara said, her tone much harsher than anything heard before and it had several of the regulars to the diner giving her strange looks.. Immediately though, she smiled and tilted her head. "I mean, I'm taking care of it."

* * *

Originally, Joe and his parents may have lived on the northern side of town, but he wanted to put as much distance between him and the university as possible. The south end and the business buildings blocked the eyesore that made him seethe and reach for a smoke even when he didn't have his breaks.

Like the one he was currently having. He blew out a puff, the smell leaving a foul taste in his mouth. It wasn't good for him, but it helped keep his stress levels down. He could have used drugs or alcohol to numb himself into oblivion, to erase that horrible night from his mind.

He didn't want to forget it though. Joe wanted that moment to be imprinted on his mind until the day he got his payback. He blew out another puff just as his dad came jogging up the sidewalk from his morning run around the block.

His dad grimaced when he saw the cigarette, but he didn't say anything. Neither of his parents found trying to get him to open up helped, but he could see the looks of relief on their faces when he agreed to go in for group counselling. Especially his health conscious dad.

Joe took one final puff from his cigarette, and crushed it under his foot with more force than necessary until it was a blackened spot on the pavement.

* * *

It was an odd thing to comment on, but Kit realized one of her comics was missing. She'd spent the better half of the morning organizing her school supplies and hemming and hawing over her Ranger tools before she looked through her stack of comics haphazardly lying on her desk.

It was one she hadn't read yet but was next in line. She probably misplaced it, and promised herself she'd try to be as careful as could be when she tore the house apart looking for it. It was just her and her dad-she felt that she knew him enough to imagine he'd sigh in exasperation and ask her to clean up after herself. She could do that.

"Rangers." Kit jumped, almost falling off her bed as she heard her father's voice coming from her communicator. She was about to speak, but then heard the myriad of other voices that had her realizing these devices were on interconnected lines. "I have received confirmation the same monster from yesterday back in Terrace View Park has reappeared, prepare for teleportation."

At once, three of the other Rangers immediately exploded over the communicator.

"You can't be serious, we're just supposed to drop everything-"

"I'm still doing my shift!"

"It's barely eleven-thirty-"

"-teleportation initiated."

Kit felt a tug in her gut, her body freezing as in one moment she was in her room, and now she was with two very pissed Rangers, one who looked faintly ill and Ann just didn't look like she cared at all.

"This is just great, damn monster couldn't wait until _after_ lunch?" Joe gripped as he pulled out the pink shuriken from his jacket but pressed a button on his communicator that summoned his shurato.

Kit patted down her jean pocket, but upon finding no shuriken she pressed the same button. This didn't look good; she was supposed to be setting the example, not following suit. After the other women brought forth their morphers, they all did exactly what she wanted and looked to her for further instruction.

As it turned out, being put on the spot hadn't gotten any better since getting this morpher.

There was laughter ringing out, mixed in with the screams of terrified civilians. Kit hunched her shoulders determinedly. "It's morphing time." As one, all five Rangers place their shurikens onto the handle of their swords, pressing down on the red button as Wakahisa instructed. "Shuriken Force, Ninja Source!"

Every shuriken glowed and in a flash holograms of their outfits appeared over their bodies, and their helmets flashed on last. When it was over, Joe looked down at himself, took notice of the skirt, and didn't make a single comment. He glanced at the other young women, and neither did they.

Well, Lila did, but for another reason.

"Try not to stab one of us by accident." Lila said snidely. Joe glared, but scowled when he realized she couldn't see his expression behind the visor.

"Let's not fight with each; we're all going to be such good friends after all!" Zara said, and for the first time they realized just how hysterical she sounded without the veneer of her expressive face.

It also made each of the other four reluctant to say anything to the negative right now, since they had bigger problems than correcting her.

"Let's get going!" Kit shouted, gripping her shurato and led the others to the side of the park where Chain Weasel was cackling as the foot soldiers were chasing after civilians and taking pot shots at them.

"That's it; Nightlings- give me as much of their fear as you can!"

"Hey!"

Chain Weasel paused, making a surprised sound, but that surprise quickly turned to rage when he saw five brightly colored figures. "There are _more_ of you?" he glared at all of them. "It still won't stop you from feeling my fearamins!"

The Rangers tensed, preparing themselves for the same paralysing effect they'd suffered from before. But when nothing happened, they started to get confused while Chain Weasel got angrier.

"What's going on? You should all be cowering before me!"

"It must be the biomolecular particles in the suits." Wakahisa stated. "I used the energies of the 'morphing grid' as it's called to strengthen your weapons and outfits. It must be blocking his paralysing effect."

"What!" Chain Weasel shouted incredulously. Though he could not see Wakahisa, he heard the voice clearly. "Not only are you a thief, but you're a real pain and a coward too!"

Kit felt a rush of protective anger. "Don't you dare call him that!" she surprised herself with her own vehemence, but the suit gave her a confidence boost she hadn't felt in what felt like years. "Rangers, let's get him!"

"Nightlings!" Chain Weasel shouted and the black-suited creatures swarmed around them. "Attack!"

The two forces collided, and Kit found her way to the Hoaxer blocked by a foot soldier and clashing swords to deflect a swing. Chain Weasel cackled and slipped away.

Ann swung half-hearted, only managing to barely put effort into blocking the strikes but never returning them. She didn't see the Nightling behind her until Lila struck it down and shook Ann roughly by the shoulder.

"What's wrong with you? You're a Ranger, so why don't you act like it?" Lila demanded.

Ann stared at her, the visor masking her dull expression. "You should've let it hit, then maybe I would have felt something."

Lila's eyes widened, unnerved and even more frustrated.

Not far away, Zara was hacking at the Nightlings with such enthusiasm and laughter that it was quite disturbing. Perhaps if the helmet didn't obstruct her face, they would have seen her manic grin, but as it were, Joe still found an appropriate enough descriptor for her in that moment, especially in light of her comment as she slashed one of the Nightlings.

"Being a Ranger is so much fun!"

"Hey, Joker," Joe called, "quit treating this like a game and get your head in gear."

For a moment, Zara went still, sword outstretched. A Nightling reared their ninjato back and swung it at her neck, only for Zara to spring back into action and viciously cut it down. "This is not a sport!" she yelled and hacked away at another Nightling, her strikes frenzied and out of control.

Joe was left shaken by the display and wondered what the hell set her off, but he was distracted by blocking another strike.

Back with Kit, she jumped back and let a Nightling's swing miss and slammed the hilt of her sword onto its head. The Hoaxer wasn't far off and she could make it to him in a few sprints. While Kit should call the others, she didn't want them to be distracted and a part of her still found talking to them to be daunting.

"Not another step! I won't let you hurt anyone else." Kit readied her blade, but Chain Weasel only laughed in her face.

"You're so stupid-you think you can really take me on by yourself?" he mocked. "Didn't what happen to that other Red Ranger teach you _anything?"_ he emphasized this with crossing his saws and Kit prepared for the strike, but it was confusion that made her grip slacken when he didn't move.

That was a mistake. An 'X' blast of sharp wind knocked into her, sparks flying as her shurato flew from her grasp and she landed harshly on the ground. She winced, and her eyes widened in terror when Chain Weasel was suddenly _there_ and about to cut her in two.

A blade blocked his strike, and a white boot slammed into Chain Weasel's stomach. He stumbled back and Lila slammed the hilt of her handle into his face, cracking his mask.

"You wretched human!" he snarled.

Lila grabbed Kit and pulled her aside as the monster swung his saw wildly around, one hand holding his mask. "What were you thinking? You can't just go off and fight these monsters by yourself! You're the leader and you shouldn't make such dumb mistakes- _ahhhh!"_

Kit's heart jumped into her throat when Lila's rant devolved into a horrible scream as one of Chain Weasel's saws finally connected with her back. He cackled as Lila crumpled to the ground, shaking as she began swearing rapidly under her breath.

The sight brought something out, a burning determination that was becoming more and more familiar to Kit again. She held onto that feeling and pulled Lila with her to grasp her shurato once more. "Everyone, regroup now!"

The others heard her cry and it only took a glance down at Lila for them to finish their fights off quickly. Ann put a bit more strength into her slash before sprinting over, Zara cut _through_ her target on her way to Kit, and Joe hacked down whatever Nightling came into contact with his blade-with every creature dissipating in a black smoke, leaving the park murkier and clouded.

It certainly left them shielded from Chain Weasel's sight, who was still snarling about his mask and Kit took advantage of it.

"I know what I did was dumb," she said quietly, but her voice was firm once again, "but I think if we all hit him then we can destroy him. Dad, is this 'finish' button what I think it means?"

"Do you mean will it channel the morphing grid energy into a concentrated attack? Then yes." Wakahisa explained dryly.

"So glad you bothered to tell us this now." Lila growled as she struggled back to her feet. Zara tried to help her, but Lila brushed it off. "I get first shot-I want to crack that mask all the way." She hissed.

Kit watched Lila regain her footing, and took it at face value that the suits had a minor shielding ability-how else could the old Rangers have survived being hit and at most just get demorphed? "If you're sure, then okay. Spread out around him, and then we'll hit him with our Rainbow Strike." Everyone stared at Kit. "What?"

"What does a damn rainbow have to do with ninjas?" Joe asked incredulously. "None of us have said it, but that's clearly what we are."

Kit hunched down. "I-I just thought we needed a name for our final attack. It was either that or Rainbow Attack."

"They both sound so pretty!" Zara gushed.

"It doesn't matter what you call it, they all sound like Pokemon moves." Ann stated flatly.

Joe gave Ann a sharp look. "Seriously, is _everything_ you say going to sound horrible?"

"Shut it!" Lila shouted and Chain Weasel looked over in their direction. He couldn't see them clearly, and all this talking wasn't going to help them anymore. "I don't care what it's called, just let me at that can opener!"

"Alright." Kit relented. "Into position!"

"Stop hiding you cowards!" Chain Weasel snarled. He slashed at the air, but the Rangers had already split up, taking point at each side of him.

Kit pressed down on the blue button, causing her red shuriken to spin and glow. Through the smoke she could see the others had all pressed their finishers too, lighting up the area. "Now!"

"Rainbow Strike!" Lila's voice rang out before the blue glow flickered over to the monster. He jerked back as sparks flew from the force of Lila's slash before she jumped into the air.

Kit's heart leapt into her throat as a warm jolt of surprise flushed through her. She wanted to say _you actually said it!_ but she couldn't when the others began shooting forward to add in their own strike. First it was Joe that attacked next, then Zara and finally Ann, and now Kit gripped her shurato tightly and followed suit.

Her blade sparked as she caught Chain Weasel in the side, and jumped up to avoid his saw swiping at her. For a single moment she and the other Rangers were posed in the air…and one by one they began to spin and all came down at once. The combined force of their attack was too much for the monster, and in a burst of light the Hoaxer shattered.

Kit landed on the ground in a kneel, and her brow furrowed as she saw the tiny shards that had been the monster. Were these crystal shards? She picked a piece up, only to jerk back as it dissipated just like the Nightlings had done. "What are these things made of?"

No one seemed to have heard her question, as the others were looking around at the rapidly clearing park. People poked their heads out of their hiding places, some hopeful while others were tentative. Zara shook Kit by the shoulder and hauled her effortlessly to her feet.

"You're the leader, say something cool!"

Kit blinked and gazed around. She felt hot under the collar, and if they could see her face they would know just how terrified she was of being put on the spot. They couldn't though, and so it was a bit of a stand off until Joe elbowed Kit in the shoulder.

"Hurry up and say something," he muttered, "I wanna have a smoke."

Lila glared at him, but it fell flat with her helmet in the way. The 'encouragement' did get Kit to shuffle forward just a bit, steeling herself to raise her voice.

"Everything's okay now." she said, her voice painfully soft. She cleared her throat. "Because the Shuriken Rangers are here." She lowered her voice. "Get us out of here."

Their reply came in the form of the gut twisting teleportation they'd arrived in.

Wakahisa gave them a cool stare. "You've survived your first real battle. Shall I expect you back for the next?"

The Rangers all unmorphed and Zara was bouncing on her heels giddily. "Of course!" she chirped.

Joe shrugged, and Ann didn't say anything, but she wasn't giving the morpher back either.

Lila scowled at them. "This doesn't make us a team."

Kit nodded. "We'll need to train together." She smiled shyly. "But I hope we can all get along."

Lila stared at her, a strange glint in her eyes before walking away without a word. Kit slumped over, but Zara patted her on the back.

"Don't worry, she's probably just overwhelmed. I know I am!" she assured her. "But I gotta get going, it was nice working with you!" she called and as she left, both Ann and Joe followed, with the latter giving a lazy wave behind him.

Kit was once more left with her father, who only gave her another cool stare. She fidgeted under it. "Did I make you proud?"

Wakahisa's gaze slid away. "It was adequate, but you could do better." He turned back to the console. "That is all."

Kit bit her lip and sullenly shuffled out of the room. Even when it felt like they were getting somewhere, it always felt like they were taking a step back.

* * *

The lair was silent as Foxglove entered the command room. He took in the still forms of his 'generals' standing around and staring at the screen. Crystal shards lied at Fallon's feet as the falcon was nearly doubled over. "What happened here?"

Like a dam just broke, Rhinex began cursing at the screen and Antioc hissed while Badgerill immediately went to Fallon's side. He removed the clamp and was the only one capable of providing the explanation.

"Rangers, they destroyed Chain Weasel." He sneered Foxglove. "So much for your foolproof plan."

Foxglove stared back at him impassively. "And thank you for volunteering." He drawled. Badgerill scowled at him. Foxglove ignored it in favor of gathering up the three tubes of fear liquid and made his way to the transference room.

He placed the three containers on a platform hooked up to a computer. It was difficult to do so without the Shadow Star, but he didn't need it for this once he got the hang of cross-dimensional technology. The real pain was the fact there needed to be a 'receiver' on the other end so things didn't get messed up.

And lo and behold, when he activated the computer, the face which appeared was his father's Chief Retainer, who glanced to the side where the tubes laid.

"I'm surprised, young fox." Hemlock declared. "Such a large batch of fear energy; I hadn't expected you to do so well."

"And why's that? Don't tell me you believed _her_ words..." Foxglove asked in a sly manner, making it more than obvious he was trying to get Hemlock's opinion.

"Hmmph. I believe what I see and expect, and what I see is large amount of fear." Hemlock said with a harrumph. "But tell me, I believe you were going to utilize a Hoaxer for the gathering, did it exceed expectations?"

"About as well as can be expected…" Foxglove looked to the side briefly. "Until a Power Ranger team destroyed him."

"What?" Hemlock jolted in surprise. "That shouldn't be, the reason you were sent to that world was..."

"It was because we failed to take over that dystopian universe and their domed city with its own Rangers." Foxglove huffed. "I am aware, but it seems this dimension has them too...albeit, their fresh and new, and have little experience with their powers."

Hemlock looked pensive, or as pensive as he could with his stiff features.

"This will need to be told to the king, it wouldn't do for his only heir to be destroyed by Rangers." Hemlock said seriously.

"Eh? Heir?" Foxglove's calm demeanour slipped as he jerked in a surprised manner. "My father said that?"

"His lordship did more than 'say it'- he decreed you as his official heir, due in part to a...lacking of a 'legitimate royal heir.'" Hemlock said shaking his head. "Celandine apparently has secluded herself in her private chambers, obviously very distressed by the news. You didn't know?"

"This has been the first I heard of it." Bowing his head, Foxglove spoke lowly. "But I accept this great honor and heavy burden with a determined will and assured dedication."

Oh, this was more than he hoped for. This was _perfect_.


	3. Episode 3: MVP Part 1

**Episode 3: Most Valuable Possession Part 1**

* * *

A yawn erupted from Dr. May, agitating four of the Rangers, though even Ann frowned. Sure, none of them had been exactly forthcoming, but how could _they_ have enough energy to come in and yet their therapist didn't?

Dr. May noticed the glances she was given, and smiled sheepishly. "Pardon me, but I had a long night. I don't have as much energy as you kids."

"We're not kids." Lila said, her tone strangely bitter.

May picked up on it. "Oh? And why is that? What makes you feel that way?"

Lila's shoulders tensed as she crossed her arms, lips pressed firmly together. She wouldn't be saying anything again.

May glanced at the clock-only three minutes left and the most she got out of the group was Lila's answer. "Okay then, we'll try something different." She cleared her throat. "For tomorrow, same time just so you know, I wish for you all to bring in an item-something from happier times. They can be from childhood or whenever in your life you can recall being happiest."

"I can hardly remember a time..." Ann trailed off in a dull tone.

May got a look in her eyes at that, and seemed to tighten her lips in sorrow. "I can assure you, things do get better with time and effort. I...I have a...relative, distant but I care for him a lot." May looked unsure of what to say, or if she _should_ say anything, but she continued on carefully. "He...lost someone close to him..."

"Accident?" Joe asked.

"Murder..." May hissed the word, sounding more venomous in that moment than they'd ever heard her, and she quickly cleared her throat when everyone looked at her with shock, though Ann's was more tempered.

"Worse part is…he knows who did it. But he has no choice but to live with the fact that person is walking around free; and nothing he can do about it…" May adjusted her glasses to wipe at her eyes quickly, her voice stilted with repressed emotion. "And yet he's managed to be happy and content…and he keeps a toy that person gave him all those years ago." She looked at each one of them earnestly. "I know you all must have something like that, and still have family who care and will help you find them. Take the time to sort through your things, and find that one item. It might even make some things clear; I know it did for...my friend."

Things were quiet after the admission, but it did visibly affect the Rangers. Joe and Lila looked uncomfortably at the wall and floor, Zara and Kit were both frowning sadly, and Ann had a distant look in her eyes.

It was all May could do but hope they took to heart what she said.

* * *

Ann was at an impasse. She needed a toy to take in, but she didn't want to go to her parents' home and rummage through her old things. It would mean she'd have to _talk_ to them, or worse, she could run into Mavis and that was the last thing she wanted.

She glanced at the table where the bills were, and sighed as she realized she did have an excuse not to just buy a new toy and lie her way through the session tomorrow. It escaped her, but for some reason the thought of doing such a thing made her feel vaguely uncomfortable. She didn't follow that line of thought, for it would make her think that she _could_ care about her old life-she couldn't, not after what she'd done and put her family through.

Ann found herself hesitating as her hand hovered over her phone, but she frowned and dialed the number to her parents' butler. The phone rang several times, and an older male voice answered, professional but with an undercurrent of surprise.

"Ms. Taylor, how pleasant to hear from you. Would you like me to relay you to the house?"

"No." Ann said more firmly than she intended. "I'm going to drop my bills off in the mailbox, but this time I want you to bring out a toy you can remember me being happy playing with." She paused. "It's hard to figure that out myself now."

"I…see." The man managed not to sound confused by her request, but it was incredibly hard. "I shall have it by the mailbox within the hour, and if I may be so bold, it is good to hear from you again and that you are taking care of yourself."

Ann stilled. She stared at the wall, her thoughts escaping her as she didn't know how to respond-she knew what she _would_ have said if things were how it used to be. As it were- "I have to go." She blurted and ended the call.

For a moment, she thought she felt guilty, but apathy set in and she found it hard to care for very long.

* * *

While Lila was not shy about telling people what she thought, it was different talking to her parents. They _knew_ what was wrong, had been there with her through everything and supported her. It made her feel guilty for taking so much of their time away from their shop, their _life_ , just for her.

Lila breathed in slowly, readying herself as she knocked on the doorway to the living room. Her parents looked up from the television. "I…" she paused, but charged on, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have homework. My therapist says that everyone in the group should bring in an item which made us happy. It's…difficult to remember a time from before…" her lips twisted into a snarl, because being angry was better than being _scared_ , " _that."_

When her parents just _got it_ , Lila felt a twinge of anger at herself that she wasn't able to tough it out, wasn't able to move past it then and had to uproot everything her parents worked for.

"Well," her mother started, "we do have a box in the basement of your old toys." She coughed uneasily. "We just couldn't imagine getting rid of them."

Lila nodded tightly. "That'll do." She paused when her parents got up to follow her. Confusion was clear on her face, so her father answered this time.

"It's nice to do things as a family."

Lila stiffened, but nodded again and tensely walked to the basement. She hesitated briefly at the doorway, staring down into the darkness. If her parents couldn't bring themselves to get rid of her old toys, then would they have had the heart to get rid of- Lila shook her head roughly. No, that didn't matter to her anymore.

She flipped the lights on and down in the basement there were some boxes of items her parents hadn't gotten around to unpacking. Some were marked as 'car parts' and 'paint', but there was one marked as 'Lila's things'. Not toys, so there could be a chance they put her old stuff in with her new junk she couldn't look at anymore.

"I'm not opening this." Lila stated bluntly. "I don't know what you put in here. If I knew it was just toys I could handle it, but…" she nodded to the description.

Mrs. Haze frowned, sorrow in her eyes. "I understand." She said and both she and Mr. Haze searched through the box. Lila kept her gaze off them, and so didn't notice and would have been glad for it, when they discreetly pulled out a telescope and star charts before shoving them into a box of Christmas lights. "Okay, I think I got something you might like."

Lila glanced over, but only grimaced as she saw it was a small rubber ball. "I don't think using a toy I played with our old dog was what the shrink had in mind."

"But you loved that dog." Mr. Haze said.

Lila's jaw clenched. "And now it's dead."

Mrs. Haze sighed. "We'll keep looking."

Lila slowly drifted in closer, approaching the box like a wild animal and her eyes gazed over the toys inside. She blinked when her mother took out another plastic toy, a blue western style-dragon. It was dirty in some places; sand definitely would have been in the joints. "I remember that."

Mrs. Haze nodded. "Yeah. You hardly went anywhere without this when you were little. You always took it into the sandbox," she blew a strand of hair from her face in annoyance, "even when we told you not too." Her father snickered.

Lila's face flushed as she grabbed the toy, her fingers moving over the groves in the plastic and scrapped it away from the flank. She could remember being small, of pretending she was the dragon riding princess knight, ruling her kingdom and saving it from any threats. Her expression fell; if only she could have had her dragon with her when…

Lila gritted her teeth, but she didn't let go of the toy. "This is the one."

Mr. Haze smiled at her. "I hope it goes well tomorrow." His smile fell when Lila gave him a hard stare and he looked away first. "Still not ready to talk to me, huh?"

Guilt coursed through her, but Lila knew he was right; that it wasn't his fault she was like this, but he was a man, and that was enough for her to despise him. "I have to go."

She didn't say anything more and her parents didn't try to either.

* * *

She'd practically torn her closet apart, but Zara didn't let that deter her. She needed to find a toy to take, but she'd brought so many when she and her parents moved them to Cadence and all held such wonderful memories that she couldn't pick just _one_.

Zara sighed and pulled back from the mess. She took note of her parents standing in the doorway, her mother amused and her father exasperated by the state of her room. "What? I need a toy that means a lot to me."

"It seems like you've gone through everything for that." Mrs. Kim said lightly.

Mr. Kim coughed and nodded to the bed. "Well, there is one thing you haven't looked at." He winced when Zara stiffened up. "I know how you feel about him, but you don't have to pretend it didn't mean anything. Isn't that why you're going to therapy?"

Zara blinked slowly. Her eyes wandered to the worn box under her bed, a thing she hadn't touched since shoving it there when they moved into this house. A part of her wanted to throw it away, but another part agreed with her father. This toy _did_ symbolize a happy time in her life that she wouldn't give up, even if it didn't end well.

"Yeah, that's true enough." She admitted. Zara pulled out the box, her grip hesitant and uncertain, but she did not have the impulse to throw it at the wall-so that was good. "But…" her demeanor shifted to something quiet, more subtle than she's shown so far, "I'd like to be alone right now."

Her parents sensed the change in attitude, and they both quietly closed the door as they left.

Zara bit her lip as she opened the box slowly, sucking in a breath when she saw the item. It was covered in dust, but it was still recognizable as a small, white animatronic puppy with a stick in its mouth. She closed her eyes-seeing it brought back memories, a time that was both wonderful and so awful in hindsight.

She and her friend-at the time-had been thirteen and a town carnival. There were so many games they played, and one was a ring toss where her friend tried to win Zara the toy puppy. He hadn't done so well, and when Zara _did_ , she let him give her the toy, both sheepish and uncertain about where they were at that stage in their friendship.

Zara realized she'd hugged the dog to her chest as she came back to the present, and breathed in slowly. Yes, a happier time then, but only a sad reminder now. Still, it was better than anything else.

* * *

Joe knew it was important to put effort into this homework, but even before his life went to crap he hadn't been all that enthused with assignments. He'd gotten into Cadence U on a hockey scholarship- his thoughts screeched to a halt and he gritted his teeth. No, don't think about that-back up and focus on his parents looking through old boxes, both exhibiting a lot more enthusiasm about this than him, tossing back and forth about old toys he never played with and those which were worn down.

But then his dad pulled out an old train with gaudy chipped pink paint at the front and Joe's attention was genuinely piqued. "You still kept that thing?"

His dad looked offended. "Of course we did, it's the first toy we bought you after we brought you home."

His father nodded in agreement. "Remember? You thought the train was too dull on its own and wanted to brighten it up?"

Joe grimaced any time he thought of his past given the terrible thing that happened, but this was something no one else could touch.

In this memory, he was safe with his parents where no one could hurt him, where they indulged with him giving an impromptu paint job to a brand new toy and getting his hands covered in paint. To his five-year-old mind, he thought his parents would send him away when he accidently flicked paint onto his father's shirt, the one he'd thought of as the sterner one.

Instead, his father only smiled and dumped the rest of the paint onto his dad's jeans when he laughed outright at him. His dad was _not_ happy about that, but he smiled as well when Joe had laughed at it instead.

"This is the one." Joe said quietly, bringing himself back to the present with all the knowledge that came with it. "It makes me happy-"he paused, as if uncertain of how to continue-"because it reminds me of a better time."

More than anything, it would be nice to go back to then. He can't though, because forgetting his revenge for even a moment was not something he could afford to do.

* * *

It honestly surprised Kit when her father showed her boxes in the garage he'd had taken from her old home. They were filled with old books, clothes she'd outgrown and-here Kit felt a pang in her chest-her mother's stuff. Kit glanced at Wakahisa, who met her gaze with a cool stare. It seemed to be his default mood whenever he dealt with her.

"I didn't know what else to do with these things, so I kept them here until I could figure it out-just throwing everything away seemed rude."

Kit nodded and pulled out two boxes of her old toys. Many of them were stuffed animals while a few were cars or trucks. "I haven't looked at these in ages." She said with an affection tinged with sadness. She paused though when she pulled back a plush doll to reveal a red mecha action figure painted red and white.

This one brought on a warm feeling as she reverently held in her grasp. "Dad, remember this?"

Wakahisa glanced over her shoulder, and his eyes widened in a moment of surprise. "I…I didn't know you kept it." His face fell into a flat expression when Kit looked at him incredulously. "I didn't have time to pack everything, so I called movers to do it for me. You didn't really think I had done it myself in just one week before you arrived did you?"

Kit pressed her lips tightly together. Yeah, she kinda did. It would've meant more if he had. "You're right, it wouldn't be possible." She said softly. "Though this mecha does mean a lot to me-it's the first gift I can ever remember you giving me."

Wakahisa looked vaguely uncomfortable. "I wasn't sure what to bring you for your birthday, but you had just turned four so I figured your mother had taught you by then not to chew on small pieces."

Kit could forgive the clinical way he talked about one of the most important moments of her life, if only because the way the first real memory she had of her father went. He wasn't the warmest person around, but he tried at least.

Her mother had put her into an adorable purple dress and tied a bow in her hair. The doorbell had rung not long after and she met a comparatively tall man who her mother greeted as her 'father' even though their last names were different. He'd been strangely distant and formal even when smiling and talking with her before presenting her with the red mecha. She'd loved it, and it more than made up for the fact he didn't know how to act around her.

That had been when she didn't know anything, but now that she was older, Kit thought more and more about why there were several discrepancies between her and her father. The last name thing always made her wonder, and her mother was very guarded about how she talked about Wakahisa.

"Can…can I ask you something?" Kit said quietly.

Wakahisa furrowed his brows, but then a look of realization shown in his eyes as he glanced between her and the toy in her hands. "This brings back memories, huh?"

"Yes, it does." Kit agreed. "Though I will be honest; I've always wondered about why I don't have your last name."

Wakahisa stared at her for such a long time, his expression unnerving blank that Kit felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and felt more than enough relief for when her father finally blinked and tilted his head. "Your mother and I never married; your mother preferred her own name to mine, and I respected her decision." His clinical words belied a fondness in his expression as he spoke of Kit's mother. "Never doubt though, that you and your mother are important to me."

Kit opened her mouth to rebuke him, but she couldn't. Deep down, that _was_ a genuine fear only second to her biggest one. She was worried because after so long of only seeing her father on birthdays and occasional holidays- that he resented her more than he cared to admit.

His mention of caring though did give Kit an excuse as to what her next question would be. "What about you?" she blurted, and flushed when Wakahisa raised a brow. "I know this is about me and the other Rangers, but you were one too-so, do you have something you cherish?"

Wakahisa went silent again, his expression tightening rather than becoming thoughtful. "I do." He said in a clipped tone. "I actually got the idea to give you that mecha because it was similar to what I have. In fact, I liked my toy so much I-" here Kit saw something she'd never seen before; Wakahisa looked sheepish- "used it as my zord."

That sentence and its implication was enough to distract Kit from the more curious questions she wanted to ask, and focused on the last bit. "Zord? What did you use for _our_ zords?"

Wakahisa's expression went blank again, and slowly a shifty-eyed look came over him. "I have papers to grade." He said quickly. "Be sure to clean up after yourself." He added and briskly made his way out of the garage.

Kit was baffled. Did her collected and in-control father just blow off her question? A more obvious fact entered her thoughts: _did he even_ make _us zords?_

* * *

It didn't take long to reach the block her parent's house was on, but Ann had trouble bringing herself to go the rest of the way. It was very warm out, but Ann hardly felt it in her oversized hoodie even as her brow began to sheen with sweat.

Still, standing around like a weirdo wasn't going to make this go by any faster and Ann made herself take those first steps. She kept her eyes on the sidewalk as she grew closer to her parents' mailbox, the bills for her apartment clutched tightly in her hand.

When she got there, she was confused as the butler hadn't dropped anything off. She frowned and shoved the envelopes into the mailbox and turned around-only to freeze instantly.

Her seventeen-year-old sister was standing at the wooden gateway, a yellow dump truck in her arms. She looked at Ann with sadness and joy, causing Ann to feel a strange churning in her gut. Something must have cracked through the apathy, as Mavis' eyes widened.

"Don't go, I can explain." She rushed out. Ann narrowed her eyes, but tightened her stance to prevent herself from bolting. Mavis better have a good reason for doing this. "I-I just wanted to see you," she continued with anguish clear on her face, "and when I saw James with this toy I had him tell me what it was for. When he explained it was for you, I made him let me bring it to you. Don't be mad at him, this was my idea."

Ann frowned again. "He told you what it was for?"

Mavis shook her head. "I don't know and I don't care-I'm just happy to see you're okay. It feels like forever since-" she cut herself off, but Ann knew exactly what she meant.

And just how hard it was Ann to look at her-time had not healed that wound yet, because when she looked at Mavis, she remembered that night and how everything went downhill.

If she felt anything, Ann would be split on hatred or relief. Self-loathing had done nothing but make the wound fester and she had no want any more to sleep.

Mavis held out the toy hesitantly, and while Ann was more than ready to just walk away, looking at her sister again stayed her hand. There was something determined in her expression, the same kind of determination that had been in Kit's features which made her stand up to the monsters.

Ann felt the kindling renew in her, and she didn't know then what it was which made her act, nor did she understand now as she took the truck. "Don't think I care."

Mavis smiled sadly. "I don't expect you to."

Ann turned away, and didn't say another word. As she walked home; the heat didn't bother her, but she could feel a strange warm flush go through her as she vaguely remembered playing with Mavis at the park with this very dump truck.

It must have been something she ate.

* * *

In Foxglove's lair, Badgerill and Rhinex were arguing over the carrying case where the star crystals were. Antioc was ignoring them as he watched the viewing screen switch through different areas with Fallon, who only got involved with the arguing two when he heard the case lid being opened.

"Get away from that, Foxglove made his stance on touching those very clear." He admonished.

Badgerill looked about to back down, but he hunched his shoulders and lifted the case further. "I'm the one going next, and I will not let a weakling take my energy."

Rhinex bristled. "Fallon got a weakling and you don't hear him complaining!" Fallon glared at him, but everyone's attention was drawn in by a familiar voice cutting through the tension.

"The more you're here, the more I see why you so utterly failed my father."

Badgerill stiffened and he scowled as Foxglove walked in. "You're one to talk. You think you're so much better than us, aren't you, _your highness?_ "

Foxglove jerked his chin up, his expression haughty despite how his mask obscured his features. "I do." He stated. "Since as of now, by King Manchineel's decree, I am the official heir to the throne."

Badgerill's eyes widened and he stepped back. Rhinex blinked, but clumsily bowed immediately. Fallon did a more formal bow.

Antioc turned around and crossed his arms. He leaned back against the console and smirked. "So then, as your first royal decree, how are you gonna punish Badgerill and Rhinex for going through your stuff?"

Both the badger and the rhino glared at him for ratting them out, but turned a fearful eye to Foxglove as he 'hmmed' thoughtfully. He pulled a star from the case, and handed it to Badgerill while his attention was on Fallon.

"You are point leader, so I leave their reprimand to you." He said, but his voice gained a steely edge as he glared at all of them. "Though don't presume to think you know my plan better than I. You all failed your mission," he reminded them coldly, and the four generals glared at the ground, "while I have spent the last twenty years successful in my reconnaissance."

Foxglove grew silent, and he made his way to a case below the tubes. He opened it and pulled out a mallet, with a larger crystal attached just above the handle grip. "And I have watched this team like many of the others."

Rhinex stared at the mallet, his expression confused. "That looks like one of those morphers those pests have."

"Yes, very astute." Foxglove said dryly. "While this cannot make a Ranger, it will be useful in helping _against_ them. I only need to test it. Now," he swept through the room towards the mundane door, "try not to fail-hard as that might be for you."

Badgerill growled and slammed the clamp onto his arm with more force than needed. He focused on the energy inside the crystal and let his anger bleed through it.

The creature which appeared on the screen was visibly based on a turtle crossed with a fire extinguisher. It looked around wildly, flexing its fingers and tilted its head as it heard laughter and gleeful screams from over a sandy hill.

It trekked up the dune, and on the other side it saw dozens of people on a beach, building sand castles and playing volleyball or splashing around in the waves. It chuckled and clenched its fists, ice starting to form at its feet and on its hands.

Things were about to get _cool_ -er.


	4. Episode 4: MVP Part 2

**A/N: The Rangers have some of their issues shown, and it's not pretty. Approach with caution, as there are some things that are going to feel _very_ uncomfortable. **

* * *

**Episode 4: MVP Part 2: Freaking Me Out**

"Yesterday a monster attack in Terrace View Park was stopped by a new team of Power Rangers, which their leader called the Shuriken Rangers." The reporter stated on the evening news of the town's local Cadence Cable News station. "It's been little over a year since the last monster threat appeared, but there has never been an attack anywhere in Canada before."

Joe was only half-listening to the television that his parents were on the couch watching while he kept his eye on the clock. Only two minutes more and he could take his evening smoke.

"…and with more uplifting news, Kal Walker from Cadence U's hockey team has just been scouted out by-" A _crack_ rang out, and the television was put on mute a moment too late. The only sound left in the room was that of Joe's heavy breathing, his knuckles white from clenching his fists too hard.

Joe's parents hesitated at getting near him, as they didn't want to crowd him and he didn't like being touched.

"Maybe-maybe you should go take that smoke now." His father, Cori, said and got an incredulous look from his partner. Cori shrugged, looking out of his depth.

It did get through Joe's clouded mind, though his thoughts were still fueled by anger and hatred. He stiffly got out of his seat at the island in the kitchen, and made his way to the front door without a word after retrieving his lighter that he'd thrown at the wall.

He slammed the door shut, winced, and his fingers shook as he pulled the pack of cigarettes from his pocket. His vision started to blur, his throat constricting and the water gathering in his mouth was the only warning he got before he buckled over and heaved.

He coughed and kept his grip on the doorknob as his stomach churned. Joe put his other hand on his knee to keep himself standing, but he didn't very much feel like taking a smoke anymore.

 _Damn the break,_ Joe gritted his teeth, _and damn_ him- _I should have done more than just break Kal's fucking nose._

* * *

As little as Ann cared about her surroundings, even she couldn't deny certain bodily functions, and eating happened to be one of them. So after taking in how her cupboard only had several bowls of instant noodles left, she sighed and made her way to the supermarket two blocks away.

There was still enough of the sun in the sky to keep the streetlamps from turning on, but even so there weren't many people out as it got slowly darker. How many of them were aware that the monsters were back, that peace was only going to last as long as a lull?

When Ann got to the market, she grabbed a dozen of the noodle cups and made a side stop at the feminine care products aisle before heading to the check-out counter. There was only one person in front of her, but that didn't matter when a woman behind her spoke up.

"Vivian Taylor?" Ann flinched; no one called her Vivian anymore. Her family certainly didn't want to, didn't even want to say 'Viv'. She craned her neck and saw an older woman, who looked shocked to see her. "It _is_ you. Why, I haven't seen you around the country club anymore-it's like you just vanished off the face of the earth."

Ann's lips tightened. "I like my privacy."

The woman nodded, but there was something incredibly patronizing in her expression. "Yes, I would imagine so. It's been what, two years since you m-"

"It wasn't like that!" Ann didn't know who was more surprised by her outburst-the other woman, or herself. She berated herself anyway- _what poor control, you don't deserve to say that_ \- and Ann left her groceries on the check-out counter.

She ignored the woman calling after her, and Ann could imagine her parents phoning her to tell her off for how she acted, how unbecoming it was, that she should have gotten better by now like Mavis had. _Well, Mavis wasn't the one whose life was ruined._

For a moment, Ann thought of going back, but shook her head and kept walking until she got back to her apartment.

* * *

Foxglove looked over the four tubes, his expression carefully masked but on the inside he was immensely pleased. The humans were only frozen for a little while by Frost Blast, but the chill and the terror of being encased in ice wrung from them a rather lucrative amount of fear.

Badgerill was also looking at the tubes, a smirk on his face that Foxglove immediately doused. "Don't become too complacent. The Rangers weren't there today, but don't think they won't show up next time."

Badgerill snorted, but the heat of his glare was dampened by how tired he was. "They can try, but this weakling's not as weak as I thought!"

Foxglove let out a quiet scoff. _Arrogant fool,_ he thought and gathered up the tubes before making his way to the transfer room. Going through the increasingly familiar motions of getting the transport ready was shaken when he opened the connection, and Foxglove was stunned when a face that wasn't Hemlock's appeared on screen, but a different face- a female one.

All he could see was her expression, but that was enough to displease him. The forehead and mouth area were smooth and white like an egg-shell, but very glossy and the top of her head was adorned with a gold crown. Her face was flawless, or at least Foxglove knew that's what her opinion would be, but in reality her eyes and nose tarnished that, for stretching across her face vertically was a ghastly looking bit of blue reptilian skin, and her eyes glowed a cold neon blue.

On seeing Foxglove, she lifted a fan to cover her mouth with a dainty laugh; her fan resembled a fanged, mouth, its maw opened wide, and the material being razor sharp, metal arrows.

"Well, well, Fox, it's been a while..." The woman tittered.

"Celadine…your highness." Foxglove restrained a burning retort about her using his nickname, and added the honorific quickly. He bowed his head for a moment, on the outside showing deference, but on the inside it was done to hide the anger in his eyes which his mask didn't cover. "I didn't expect you to answer-but I _did_ hear about me being named heir; does that mean you've been demoted to answering my calls?"

Foxglove reveled in Celadine lowering her fan to reveal her angry, twisted mouth morphing into a snarl. She obviously didn't miss the barb, shabbily hidden as it was. "Watch your tongue, _brat!_ " Celadine hissed sharply. "Hemlock's job is still intact, and my position is unmovable; I'm just doing this as a favor for him."

"Really? I would've thought you were above such things?" Foxglove asked sardonically.

"I am but I'll ask you not to speak to me in such a way." Celadine scowled. "I am still the queen, and I'll not be talked to in that tone by some upstart bastard who thinks he can steal the throne from my future babies!"

Foxglove growled at her haughty attitude. If this were anyone else, he would not be lowered to such a base reaction, but he hated his 'step-mother' _just that much._ "If you wish to see me 'dethroned', you're gonna need to _actually_ produce a child from that barren field of yours, your highness." Foxglove finished with a mockingly respectful tone.

Celadine looked about ready to get angry again, but then she smiled and fanned her face in a coy manner, though really it was to distract Foxglove from seeing the smug glint in her eyes. "That's why I am doing this favor for Hemlock, since he's making me a fertility potion. I have a long, pleasurable night of passion planned with my husband," she turned to give him a snide side smile, hitching up her shoulder with a laugh, "and I want it to be profitable after all, if I want to 'dethrone you' as you said."

She then tapped her fan against her chin. "I've also managed to _heighten_ the odds, if you will…" The queen became giggly, and seemed to wiggle in place, thoroughly starting to disturb Foxglove and made him wish he could just cut the connection. "A beauty treatment that will make my husband unable to keep his hands off me. And with that fertility potion and your father's relentless plowing of my field-"

Foxglove turned and covered his mouth with his hand, fighting back the bile that threatened to spew out. ' _Wretched witch!'_

"-I'll have a child in no time, and it's all thanks to you." Celadine finished by pointing her fan at him for emphasis. The giggling she did at his obvious discomfort only fueled his disgust and anger.

" _Me?_ What in the name of Dark Spector have I done to help you out?" Foxglove demanded. It was a name he'd picked up in this world, and it stuck with him.

"Why, for your recent shipments of fear energy of course! You've done such a good job, and sent so much. So I was able to nick a little for my own use." Celadine said in a patronizing tone, and then caressed her face in loving manner. "Then I was able to take twenty years off myself, and really that's helped me a lot."

Foxglove bristled in outrage and disbelief. The sheer _nerve_ of this woman… "That fear is for the kingdom's energy crisis; I doubt my father intended it to be _wasted_ on you for beauty products!" Foxglove snapped, his tone growing in volume.

"I _am_ the kingdom, and my not having an heir _is_ a crisis!" Celadine retorted. "And I'm not _stupid_ ; I only used a bit-it's not like I took the whole shipment. After all..." She turned her head in a statuesque-like pose. "Why paint the peacock?"

Foxglove quietly groaned in disgusted disbelief.

Celadine ignored his disrespectful noises and continued on like he hadn't said anything. "So, I hope your next shipment is just as big. After all, it takes a routine to look _this_ good!" she laughed as Foxglove slammed his fist down on the transporter button and the transmission faded out.

Foxglove let out a howl of rage and pulled out his hammer; pressing down on the handle button to make the shuriken spin and swung it like he could smash it against the cause of all his anger, a bolt of yellow lightning scorched the wall. "That despicable, imperious, shrewish, vain _hag!_ " Foxglove hissed. "I hope she fails, and I hope she's all withered and dry inside so that I _will_ become the ruler, and when I do-the first act I'll perform as king is seeing her _banished!"_

When he finally calmed down and the anger clouding his mind faded away, Foxglove glanced at his mallet with a grim smile; at least he knew it was working properly.

* * *

For Zara, she usually slept in when she didn't have any shifts, but on this Tuesday morning she found it odd that she was being called into work. She pulled on her black and white uniform and after a quick breakfast she hurried out to meet her bus.

Her parents weren't home, her mother was at work at the hospital while her father was still searching for a job, so Zara hoped she got enough tips to help them pay the rent. It was the least she could do, and she liked being a waitress.

Buildings that slowly became familiar to her passed in a blur on the bus ride to the diner's block. It was quite a cozy little place called Seeley Café that served all-day breakfast and Zara smiled as she smelled the eggs and bacon from the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled despite being full.

She peered around the bustling inside, and Kay motioned her to the manager's office. Zara nodded and briskly made her way over to the corner, careful to stay out of the other waiters' way. She only knocked once before being let in and Manager Lin gestured to the seat in front of his desk.

"So, is this about my hours? Do you need more help now that it's summer?" Zara asked.

"That is part of the reason, yes." Lin replied, his tone careful. He cleared his throat. "In fact, we'll be putting up help wanted signs-and so will other places."

Zara furrowed her brow. She reached onto the desk and grabbed one of the pens. "That's nice; kids should get more job experience."

Lin nodded seriously. "Yes, kids do a lot these days." He paused for a moment, his eyes glancing to the side before he looked at Zara firmly. "In fact, children in particular come around during the summer." Zara froze, her brain finally registering just what was wrong. "People like bringing their kids here and, how do I put this gently? You…after that incident two weeks ago I thought you were trying to keep your temper in check, but you can't keep making the other waiters take your tables just when a child is there."

Zara's hands wrung the pen under the cover the desk edge, but it was clear from her blank expression that this was not sitting well with her. Slowly, the unnerving lack of emotion was wiped clean as she stiffened up, smiling as though nothing was wrong. "I understand, and I thank you for hiring me in the first place. I'll see myself out."

Lin opened his mouth, but the words were caught in his throat as Zara all but skipped out of the room. His eyes were locked onto her hands, where ink was staining her fingers and he furrowed his brow as he looked over his desk. His lips pressed tightly together; the pen Zara had been toying with was snapped in half and lying on the seat, ink spilling over the edge and dripping onto the floor.

He gazed after Zara, and he was relieved that he'd made the right decision in firing her. _She really needs some help._

* * *

The sound of a car driving into the parking lot of her parents' mechanic shop was nothing new, especially during the summer as people wanted their cars in top shape for any long distance travel. Before, Lila would have ignored it and went right back to reading her magazine, but she'd agreed to help her parents out today as she didn't have work and already they were busy with two other cars that had been dropped off.

Dog-earing the page she was on, Lila set the book down and got up to go meet the three women who were in a red convertible. Just a little bit, Lila relaxed. "Hello, are you here for a tune up?"

A woman with hair the same shade of red as her car held out the keys and a piece of paper to Lila, her expression stiff. "Yes. Don't scratch my car, and call that number when it's finished." Her eyes shifted to her car again, her brows knitting together.

A brunette snickered as a blonde looked over a map. "Don't worry about her; she's just uptight about her precious baby."

The redhead scowled at her. "My 'rents said that this was the last car they would let me get; I'm not gonna total another one!"

Lila tensed back up again. Rich out of towners would be her first thought, but the _voice…_ Lila narrowed her eyes slightly at the redhead, giving her a more considering look before she glanced down at the license plate- _Alberta…_ now _I remember her from Meadow Lane,_ Lila felt a rush of anger as she recognized each of them from her old university- _no, don't think about that place._

The blonde finally looked up from the map, her brows furrowing when she saw Lila. "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"

Lila gritted her teeth, but forced herself to relax. As long as she didn't draw attention to herself, she could get to leave faster. "No, I don't know you." She kept her voice steady- _Don't show them that you're lying._

The blonde shrugged and the redhead went back to her car. The brunette though narrowed her eyes, and Lila felt a chill run down her spine as the other woman's eyes widened in recognition.

"It _is_ you!" she laughed, a harsh and loud sound that caught the other two women's attention. She grinned and looked over at them. "It's _Lila Haze_."

Lila couldn't stop the flinch. Her name was spoken in the same venomous tone she'd heard this woman call her a tramp. Like…like she was still nothing but a… Lila narrowed her eyes when the redhead frowned, but the blonde blinked and gasped.

"So _this_ is where you went!" she smirked at her.

The redhead sniffed. "On second thought, I don't want my car checked out here. You might lie about the state of my car too."

Lila shook, her shoulders shaking and she threw the keys onto the ground at the woman's feet. "Then take your damn business elsewhere!" she spun on her heel, storming back to the garage as she closed her eyes and scrunched her nose, but all she could see was her old dorm room door defaced and covered with slurs, taunts ringing in her ears.

"Honey? What's wrong?" Her mother asked as Lila came inside, but the Ranger only shook her head.

"I can't help you anymore today. I-I have to go." Lila winced, hating how her voice choked and she rushed inside their home, her thoughts muddled and self-loathing, but the one that stayed with her was-

 _I'm still so weak…_

* * *

When Kit's first day of summer school was over, she couldn't help but let out a sigh before smiling and gave a small fist bump. _I did it! One day down just,_ she paused as she realized there would be still almost a month left. _Well, still got one day of catch-up done, that's all that matters._

And it left her the rest of the afternoon until therapy at three to try and come up with an idea on how to approach the other Rangers. She found them all to be intimidating in vastly different ways, and her shyness only made things worse. _I guess that's what being alone for so many months does…_ Kit sighed, though her attention was caught by the sound of the front door opening behind her and she stepped to the side, allowing a group of teenagers around her age to go by.

A boy at the back of the group stopped, and looked at her curiously. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"I'm new." Kit muttered. "I moved here not too long ago and need to take a catch-up."

"Ah," the boy nodded, his friends stopping to glance back, "from Asia, right?"

Kit froze. "You did not just say that to me." She said quietly.

The boy looked confused. "What? East Asia? I mean, you _look_ like you're from there-"

"Dude! _Shut the hell up!"_ One of his friends snapped, while another added, "You can't just go around saying shit like that!"

The boy looked offended and confused, which only made Kit's insides churn and clench her fists. "What are you talk-" he stopped, his eyes growing wide as it finally dawned on him what he'd said. His face paled, stricken and regretful as looked at Kit. "I-I'm sorry about that I-"

Kit couldn't stand it. Without a look back, she bolted from the scene. Her heart raced, insides queasy and all she wanted to do was throw up. She wished she could be stronger, have the last word instead of hear some platitude an ignorant teenager said only to cover his ass.

But she wasn't. How could she lead a team if she couldn't even stand up for herself? Where was the fire she had the first time those monsters attacked? Why couldn't she be strong like that all the time….strong like she used to be before…

Kit sighed wearily, her sprint slowing to a crawl as she got closer to her house-she still hadn't gotten used to calling it her _home_ yet. Surprise flashed across her face though when she got inside, and found her father was not hiding away in his command room. "Dad?"

From his seat at the kitchen table, Wakahisa closed the laptop he was typing on, presenting her with his undivided attention. "How was your day?"

He sounded stilted and awkward, the words more practiced than genuine, but it still made Kit appreciate he was trying. "It was…" she trailed off. For how often her father wasn't around when she grew up, he'd gotten pretty decent at reading her and sniffing out any lies she tried to tell. She couldn't even say 'I'm okay' without him regarding her suspiciously.

Kit contemplated leaving out the incident at the end of the school day, but her heart leapt into her throat. More than anything, she wanted to know how he'd react, if he _cared_ -about _her_. "I'm…doing well. My," she coughed nervously, "stay in the hospital only put me back a few months. Though at the end of the day, one of the boys in the summer program assumed that just because I'm Japanese that I'm-I-I'm," her fist clenched the hem of her shirt tightly, "that I'm from Asia."

Wakahisa stared at her blankly, his expression giving away nothing. "I see." He said, and slowly he got to his feet. "And who will I be talking to your principal about?"

Kit blinked. "You…want to report it?"

Wakahisa frowned. "If this matters to you, then it matters to me."

This…was surprising, but Kit felt unsure. "I don't know who it was," she admitted, "but at least let me deal with it first. It's nice that you want to help, and I do appreciate your concern."

Her father frowned even more deeply. His eyes lowered, expression turning downcast. "You don't have to be so formal." He said, and Kit stiffened. "It was never my intention to make you feel as though you were a guest, rather than my daughter."

"We…both have a lot to learn, I suppose." Kit said wryly.

Wakahisa's lips quirked up, but it wasn't quite a smile. "Yes, we do." His eyes turned back to his laptop. "You may deal with your ignorant classmate, but do not hesitate to tell me if you feel you need help."

Kit didn't keep the smile back, bittersweet as it was. "I will. As a leader it is my duty to set a good example and take responsibility for myself." She added the last part hoping for approval, but her father didn't glance at her. Their moment was over.

Kit's shoulders slumped. _Two steps back again, huh?_

* * *

When three p.m. rolled around, May was pleasantly surprised to find that all five of her patients had brought in an item. There was wear and tear to each toy, making her smile a little bit more that none of them had opted to just buy something and lie about it.

"So, who would like to share something about their toy?" she questioned, but much like most of their sessions so far, everyone was extremely reluctant to talk. They eyed each other warily, sending cursory glances at one another's toy. May sighed and glanced at the clock.

"Why do keep doing that?" Lila demanded, her jaw having been clenched since she came in, her fingers keeping a tight grip on her plastic dragon.

May frowned. "Doing what?"

"Glancing at the clock." Lila muttered. "Do you want to be here or not?"

"Do _you?"_ May asked, but Lila didn't say anything, so she pressed on, "I'm not pushing you to talk, but is it so much too at least give a little?"

The Rangers all glanced at their toys, unsure about telling her anything, or saying something personal and only to get it thrown back at them. They might have to work as a team, but they all knew they _weren't_ a team.

Still, that's what this was all about, wasn't it? To get better, to be able to heal?

And so keeping a smile on her face, Zara jumped right in. "Well, I got this when I was thirteen," she held up the animatronic puppy, "isn't it cute?"

"It is." May agreed, her gaze sweeping over the other Rangers. "Does anyone have something they'd like to add?"

Zara's smile froze.

"Where did you get it from?" Kit asked quietly.

The white ranger's form relaxed. "At a carnival. It-it was fun." She stumbled, but quickly smiled.

There was silence, and Ann slouched further into herself. "I…" she hesitated, but her expression remained flat, "I used to play with this truck. It-it made me hap- _haaapy_." Her voice went weird, going higher and grimaced immediately. Her eyes darted around, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"Well, it's nice to see you took this seriously." May said serenely. "Anyone else? It's okay, nothing will leave this room."

Lila's shoulders tensed, her expression aggressive. "When I was young, I played with this in the sandbox a lot." she gritted her teeth, as though she was silently challenging them to say anything.

Joe would have snapped back, but for the moment he wanted nothing to cloud the memory he had of his train. "This," he shifted the pink and black train, "was the first gift I got from my parents."

"That's so sweet." Kit said softly. She flushed when Joe looked at her, and fiddled with her mecha toy. "I got this from my dad. He…wasn't around much, so it means a lot to me."

May smiled sadly. "You're all doing well. Is there something else you all would like to say?" No one replied, and the woman sighed. "Alright, just feel free to jump in whenever you're ready."

For the rest of the session, it was painfully obvious that their willingness to talk to each other was over. Especially if none of them wanted to be the first to get into _why_ they decided to do these therapy sessions. And so when their time was up, May only tiredly told them to be there for their Friday session.

She stared unblinking as the five of them not-so-subtly sprinted for the door.

* * *

"Those have got to be the most draining thirty minutes of my life." Joe muttered as he fished his cigarette pack from his pocket, train tucked under his other arm.

Lila scowled at him. "If you _have_ to do that, stand down wind so we don't have to smell you."

Joe snorted. "No one's keeping you here, princess."

Kit glanced between the two of them, worry clear on her face. She saw Ann was staring off into space, while Zara was picking dirt from her puppy, so she cleared her throat as she approached her two most volatile teammates. "T-there's no reason to…" she trailed off weakly as Lila and Joe both scowled at her, the 'stay out of this' going unsaid, "fight." She finished with a squeak.

Lila narrowed her eyes at Kit, critically taking the time to give her a once over, her expression unimpressed. "You need to grow a spine, _fast_."

Kit grimaced.

Joe scowled at Lila. "She's just a kid, lay off."

"And she's our leader." Lila snapped. "She can't afford to be soft-the world will chew her up and spit her out before even our fourth mission."

"I-I'm not soft." Kit muttered, but neither Joe nor Lila seemed to have heard her-or they were ignoring her in favor of glaring at each other.

"She had a strong backbone the first time, always a chance it ain't a fluke." Joe retorted, but Lila scoffed.

"I know her type. She won't stand a chance when things get real," she said, something bitter in her eyes, "no matter what- she's going to be seen as weak."

Kit's gaze lowered. The words stung deeply; this was her _team_ , how much would she need to prove herself before they wouldn't be ashamed of her?

"Rangers." Kit froze as Wakahisa's voice rang out through their communicators, his tone multiplied by the fact they were all together. "Another monster sighting has been reported. I will teleport you in for the debriefing."

Kit felt an increasingly familiar tug in her gut, and it was the only other warning received before Kit's head pounded and she blinked, still reeling from the fact they were so _instantaneously_ transported to the command center.

Wakahisa glanced over them, his eyes settling on Joe's hand. "You can smoke later, put that away." He said flatly, not waiting for a response as he turned around and brought up a map on the computer screen.

Joe scowled at Wakahisa, but sullenly shoved his cigarette pack into his pocket. He crossed his arms. "So what's running around this time? Is it going to be in our backyard again?"

"No, I've pinpointed that this one has appeared at Lake Ontario." Wakahisa replied. "I've been fine tuning my computer to track these energy surges, though there have been some…glitches."

"So there was an attack before this and you didn't catch it." Ann said bluntly.

Wakahisa paused, and nodded sharply. "It was my mistake, but I will continue to do better."

"Did anyone die?" Zara asked worriedly, and Kit felt her heart seize.

"No, just came out of it very cold." The man replied. "Though before I send you on your way, there is a matter we must discus briefly. The zords."

"Are you serious?" Lila asked incredulously. "Now is not the time!"

"If we don't talk about this now none of you will stay once you're finished with the mission." Wakahisa replied shortly. His seriousness in the face of this kept them from talking back, as they just wanted this to go by faster. And they couldn't exactly argue that he wasn't right. "I have found out how to _make_ a zord, yet I didn't have enough time to calibrate it to anything for yours."

Kit bit her lip, but as she looked down at her mecha, she remembered what he'd told her before. "Then use my toy for mine." He jerked his head over at her, but she held the toy up insistently. "I wouldn't want it to be anything else."

"Count me in, I love this little dog." Zara chimed, though her smile was strained as she held the puppy out.

Ann frowned, but didn't say anything as she carelessly tossed her truck at Wakahisa, who scrambled to catch it. He glanced at Lila and Joe, both of whom were reluctant to part with their childhood memories.

 _Well, it could be this, or something I have no interest in preserving._ Lila thought, and sighed as she stiffly held out her dragon. Immediately she pulled back like she was burned when Wakahisa grabbed the toy.

"Guess I'd rather have this than anything else too." Joe muttered as he handed the man his train.

Wakahisa placed the items onto the console, and fetched Zara and Kit's. "I'll get to work on them. They should be ready soon enough." He paused as his finger hovered over the teleporter button, the next words as awkward as the first time, "Good luck."

* * *

A clear, blue sky was the first thing Kit saw at the beach, the next being the sand dunes, and the third being the grainy sand under her flats. Which started to feel uncomfortable as it spilled into her shoes. "O-okay then, everyone." Kit tapped her communicator, summoning her shurato and its shuriken, the others following suit. "It's morphing time-Shuriken Force, Ninja Source!"

The call rang out, and all five shurikens began to spin, glowing and holographic images of the suits appeared. They fazed into existence over their bodies, followed by the helmet, and finally the gold sash across their shoulders.

"Stay together everyone; we don't want a repeat of our last mission." Kit said.

"Don't you mean our only mission?" Lila grumbled.

Kit winced, but didn't reply as she led them over the sand dunes. They followed her because she was the Red Ranger, but she didn't want that to be the only reason. "We-we need to start working outside of missions." She began, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. "I was thinking we could get together and try to find out more about each other."

"Isn't that what the therapy is for?" Joe questioned. "Why mess with a good thing?"

Kit ducked down. "That can't be all there is to this."

"If you're trying to suggest we become friends, then you're wasting your time." Ann said emotionlessly. "We are in this to stop a threat, not pretend we like each other."

"I don't wanna pretend though!" Zara whined. "I wanna like you gals and guy; you're all so interesting and I think we could be great friends!"

Kit perked up at that, but even the cheery words weren't enough for her to completely ignore the borderline maniacal edge to the tone. "Well, I'm glad at least one of you likes the idea."

Joe crossed his arms and leaned away from Zara, the incident at the park still fresh in his mind. "Not sure I wanna be friends with the Joker. Next thing you know she'll be quoting his lines from that movie."

Lila stared at Joe. "You can't see it, but I'm rolling my eyes."

"I know that reference!" Zara chirped, hopping along the sand. "See, we're getting along already!"

Joe and Lila scowled uselessly at each other through their helmets, while Ann was only wishing she could be back in her apartment than deal with this.

Kit though would take enthusiasm over somberness any day though, even if she was weirded out by Zara too. "We're going to be great friends, you'll see." She said as Zara gave a thumbs-up that the other three didn't return.

Screams rang out, and Joe and Lila were all too glad that they didn't have to listen to Kit trying to give a 'why can't we be friends' pep talk anymore. Kit tried to call them back as they ran past her, but ignored her in favor of completing the mission.

Joe reached the beach first, civilians running around in a desperate attempt to get away. He saw a woman fall down on the sand, her beach blanket tangling up in her legs. He felt unease wash over him, but he knew with Lila so close he had to keep up his image. "Let me help you," he knelt down beside the woman, who started at the sound of his voice given his attire, "but I don't understand how a pretty lady such as yourself is at a beach all alone."

The woman blushed as she helped him untangle her legs. "Thank you." She said and smiled at him before rushing off with the other civilians.

Lila had watched the exchange silently, but her disgust was visible even with her face obscured. "Unbelievable." She muttered. "You're such a _man."_

Joe frowned, having never heard the word spat with such venom before. "You got a problem with everyone, don't you, princess?"

"Don't need to explain myself to you, perve." Lila growled.

Joe was about to snap back, but his head jerked up as a loud cackling cut through the air. He didn't bother with glaring at Lila as he ran towards the sound, and stopped dead when he found the monster finish freezing up a teenager. "Hey, freezer burn, over here!"

Frost Blast looked up at the shout, blinking when he saw something that did not immediately connect. " _Oooh,_ did you get the short straw, pinkie pie?"

"Did _you?"_ Joe shot back. "It would explain why you look like a walking disaster."

"That hurt, pink boy!" Frost Blast whined. "Can't you take a joke? Why so serious?"

Joe rolled his eyes. _Just great, what's his fear-terrible puns?_ "Yeah, that's really what it is." He said dryly.

"Or you're just a wretched human being." Lila retorted as she sprinted up beside him, shurato at the ready.

Frost Blast perked up when he heard _her_ voice. "Oh, true blue! I'll have so many puns for you!"

"Shut up!" Lila snapped, but Frost Blast only cackled, hands beginning to frost over.

"Looks like I got a spoilsport, so why don't you chill out!" he jerked up his hands, ice zapping out.

Lila and Joe ducked down, but a severely startled Kit jerked back when the ice zapped Ann in the chest.

"Ann!" Kit knelt by her side, while Zara uselessly tried to break off the ice spreading over the yellow ranger, who only stared down at it, her hidden expression resigned and unsurprised.

"Of course, Lila got hit the last time, so it's my turn now." She said, her tone unconcerned and it put Kit on edge. "Just go, it'll probably wear off-if not, I'll just get frost bite. Either way it doesn't matter."

"That's no way to talk, you can beat this!" Zara exclaimed, but Ann didn't bother moving. Zara tensed, and began shaking her, but Ann only rolled listlessly.

"This is extremely disturbing." Kit murmured. She stopped Zara from trying to 'help' Ann anymore, and with one final worried glance at her downed teammate, she pulled Zara with her and took out her sword, gathering her resolve as she pointed the blade at the monster. "Undo all of this, right now!"

Frost Blast just laughed at her. "You can whine and cry until you're red in the face, but I'm never gonna stop having my fun!"

"Then we'll just have to stop you!" Kit retorted. "Rangers, get him!"

"Finally, an order I can get behind!" Lila yelled and charged at the monster. Frost Blast ducked back, but she blocked the punch he sent her way, though she grunted when his knee came up into her stomach and flung her into the air, sending her flying over-head.

"Who wants to get their spandex-covered backsides handed to them next?" Frost Blast taunted.

Joe shot forward, slashing his sword at the creature, only for Frost Blast to sidestep the swing and wrapped his arms around Joe's waist. Joe's eyes widened, his gut churning and he started struggling, wildly slashing behind him but in his panic the arcs didn't connect at all. "Get your hands off me!"

Frost Blast though just held on tighter. The Ranger was scared, and it felt _great._ He didn't even have to use his fearamins! "If I knew it would be this easy, I would have jumped you first, rosy."

Joe's stomach dropped. _N-no-_ "Let me go!"

Kit's grip tightened on her sword, her heart thudding in her chest. She hadn't heard Joe sound so scared, that he could _get_ scared… her eyes narrowed. "Leave him alone!" she ran at Frost Blast, sword raised, but was unable to strike when without warning he tossed Joe at her, knocking them both into the sand.

Zara gasped, and she frowned at the creature as it laughed at her teammates. She rushed him, not even bothering with the sword as she reeled her fist back. "That wasn't very _nice!"_ Frost Blast turned around just in time to catch Zara's fist slamming into his face.

He stumbled back, hands clutching his face as spider-web cracks began to appear. "No, no, no! It can't be over, I won't let it be over!" he shrieked, ice blasting out from his hands at Zara, who flew back from the force of the hit.

"Oh no!" she tried to pry the ice forming on her chest off, but it spread to her fingers. She didn't let it stop her though from getting back up, clenching her fists just as the ice sealed them in that state. Her suit protected her, but she could still feel the chill through the cloth. "I'm not out yet!"

Frost Blast avoided another cheap shot, and grabbed her frozen fists. "Why won't you stay down!?"

Over in the sand, Joe scrambled off of Kit and didn't help her as she held out her hand. Kit sighed and got back to her feet shakily. "We can talk about this later, but right now we need to finish the monster off."

Joe nodded tightly, not trusting himself to speak. Especially not after Kit saw how freaked he'd gotten. He followed Kit over to Lila, who was grumbling and dusting the sand from her person. She looked up at their approach, but behind them saw Zara locked in a stalemate with Frost Blast.

"What the hell happened?" Lila demanded.

"Zara's distracting him, but she won't stay unfrozen for much longer." Kit brandished her shurato to emphasize her next point. "We need to attack together. He's weakened and we can end this right now. Will you listen to me?"

Lila glanced at Joe, who nodded. She sighed. "Fine, want us to do the rainbow thing again?"

"No fancy moves this time." Kit said seriously. "Zara gets out of the way, and all three of us charge him. Understood?"

"Simple, but very effective." Lila mused.

"That's the idea." Kit said quietly, but she was glad that they weren't questioning it. "Now, get into position." She turned around, crouching into a half-sprint pose, and both Joe and Lila took the same stance on both sides of her. "One, two-Zara, move!"

Zara's head shot up, and she saw the three blurs of her teammates coming at them. Frost Blast's head jerked up at the shout, and the white ranger pulled her hands back, ducking out of the way. He turned around, but his eyes widened when three blades were suddenly in his view, arcing down and all three slashed him down the chest.

Kit held her breath, watching as Frost Blast iced over before breaking apart, the ensuing light causing a blinding flash. She shook her head, wincing as the remaining crystal shards were glinting in the sun.

"It's gone!" Zara shouted, and Kit looked up to find that the Ranger no longer had ice covering her.

"Ann!" Kit said suddenly, and she rushed over the sand dune, relief coursing through her as she saw that the yellow ranger didn't have frost on her either. "You're okay!" she helped Ann to her feet, and the other woman frowned behind her mask.

"Why are you so happy that I'm okay?"

Kit started, surprise crossing her hidden face. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm your leader; it's my job to be concerned about you all."

Ann looked away. "So it's not real worry then-just a job. Figures." She muttered.

"What? No, of course it's real!" Kit replied, but Ann turned away.

"Wakahisa, the mission is done."

"Dad-" Kit started, but gritted her teeth as she felt the pull in her gut, and found herself back in the command room. She looked up when Ann's suit powered down, but before she could say anything the yellow ranger left.

Kit frowned, her gaze going to the other three. Joe held himself stiffly, and didn't even bother to power down before storming out. Kit only saw the calculating glare Lila sent her way as she de-powered, and similarly left without a word.

Zara beamed and swept Kit into her arms, powering down but not even fazed by the fact the suit no longer gave her a strength boost. "So glad to be working with you! Don't worry about the others, they're just being moody!" she giggled and placed Kit back on her feet.

The Red Ranger blinked as Zara pranced out of the room, reeling from the casual affection. "I…I think I might be in for a bigger challenge than I thought."

Wakahisa sighed. "Being a leader isn't easy. You'll do fine."

Kit flushed, smiling. She hoped that was true, because she wanted to do right by her team. They deserved a strong leader, and…and maybe someday she could be that leader.


	5. Episode 5: Forging Our Ties Part 1

**Episode 5: Forging Our Ties Part 1**

' _Two Dead in Boating Accident', 'Fire Claims Lives', 'Three Found Dead in Car Crash'._

Foxglove scrutinized the headlines, all dating to the start of the week, but he took note of today's missing paper. He tossed them onto the coffee table, and paced around the room, showing its sparse contents of a single couch and a television set. The curtains were kept closed, as Foxglove would not let one of his nosy neighbours see him in his true form.

He didn't like coming above ground in his true state- even if he knew having a human form was a necessity that allowed him to blend in with the earthlings- but this time it was different. He pushed the table to the side, and reached inside his cloak to pull out a plated scroll. It hadn't been that long since he'd contacted Waspina, and she was no doubt going to be surprised he'd called her back in such a short while.

 _Changes have to be made though, Waspina is being careful but it's not going to get me the fear I need. And having just one Hoaxer terrorizing people isn't enough either-if only there were more star crystals to spare…_ Foxglove shook his head; there was no point in questioning his father's wisdom, his word was law after all. _And I should just be grateful enough that Hemlock was able to concoct the poison I wanted in such short time._

True, he'd been forced to bite his tongue when Hemlock slyly asked him if he planned on using it on the Ninja Five (Four as they had been originally) for insubordination. 'No,' Foxglove replied, 'I have something else in mind for their failure.' And he _did_ -it would teach them to cross him.

Foxglove glanced at the hall, his eyes finding the hidden door in his private room. Yes, they would learn in time just what his wrath looked like.

He knelt down, and carefully unfolded the scroll. "Come to me, Poison Honey Bee, Waspina!" Foxglove called out.

The scroll showed a drawing of a female bee-like monster, and it glowed as the figure appeared before him. The being gained details as it formed, with the tufts of yellow fur at the collar, webbing along the yellow wings, and the silver plating of her 'skin' becoming more scale-like. More apparent with her motif being the smaller hornet on her left arm and the arrow launcher just underneath it.

"Ah! Lord Foxglove, it pleases me to see you again." The woman bowed, her tone overly formal. "Poison Honey Bee Waspina is at your service, as always." She paused, and used her bowed form to glance at her current state. "Though I do wish you would have given me some warning; being changed back from my human form so suddenly is _not_ fun."

Foxglove sighed quietly. "Apologies, my dear Waspina, but I have a change in plans for the mission I gave you."

Waspina looked up, and tilted her head quizzically at Foxglove with a buzzing hum as any formalities were discarded. "Which plan was that? The one no one knows about or the one everyone knows about?"

"Everyone knows about." Foxglove replied tiredly, in the back of his mind cursing the fact his magic was always split when he needed to maintain his human form. It made being in his true state draining at times.

Waspina nodded, but paused mid-bob. " _Really?_ Just when I'm doing so good at making my attacks look like accidents? Do you even have any idea how hard that is?"

"Impressive, but it's not enough." Foxglove retorted. "We need to drain this world of all the fear we can get." He reached back into his cloak, and held up a glass vial with a purple liquid bubbling in it. "And this will ensure even if our Hoaxers are defeated, we will always reap the humans' terror. This is a dreadful poison Hemlock created at my request; it causes drastic fevers, severe hallucinations and terrible dry throat- but it won't kill them...it dissipates after two months."

Waspina hummed with a buzz, and took the vial with a confused tilt of her head. "All this trouble, and it doesn't kill people?" She began to let out a buzzing laugh. "Oh, Little Fox, I do believe living amongst the humans have made you soft on them."

Foxglove huffed haughtily, frowning as he tried to snatch the vial roughly from her, but she reacted with another laugh and her wings fluttered, letting her duck back and flew up into the air and out of reach, allowing Waspina to look down at him with amusement.

"I've hardly gone soft, Waspina." Foxglove said dismissively. "As we can't very well extract fear from _dead_ people, now can we?"

Waspina just giggled and floated back down, wrapping her arms around his shoulders with an affectionate smile. "Now, now, I know you better than that. After all, we're family; I might only be a second cousin, but we're as close a siblings- or mother and son if you want to get sentimental." She patted his head with a sigh after feeling him stiffen at her last comparison. "Not that I'd try to replace yours, of course."

Foxglove let out a resigned sigh at her overly affectionate display, but he accepted it and gave her a fond flick of the antennae. "Of course you wouldn't, I understand that just as you do. And making those little slips isn't going to stop me from being your dear cousin. That's never gonna change." He explained seriously, and pulled himself out of Waspina's arms, snatching back the vial that Waspina just snickered at, but her amusement faded as she tilted her head.

"Oh, I don't know. From where I stand you sure changed." She turned and crossed her one arm to rest her left elbow on it to cup her face. "I think Rei was a big part of it too, wouldn't you say?"

Foxglove's ears went rigid, his eyes narrowed behind his mask. " _No, I wouldn't."_ he hissed through his teeth. "And you'll do well to remember, dear cousin, that I don't care about this world-and I certainly don't care if the people live or die. They're only humans and all they're good for is their fear." Foxglove's tone didn't rise, but there's no mistaking the anger in his voice. "Now, we should really go and get your arrows treated with this virus. If you'd be so kind as to follow me with your supply." He practically spat out the words with a forced politeness.

Waspina didn't have a chance to respond as Foxglove left the living room with the vial, and she looked into the hallway to see him enter another room. She sighed and shook her head, letting herself say the words he would hear had he still been there, "You shouldn't say 'I don't care' so vehemently," she 'tsk'ed, "otherwise someone might take it in the worst kind of way."

* * *

Kit is sitting at a picnic table outside her school, her day of catch-up over and now she was reading the last issue of Volume 2 in her Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye comic. She's always enjoyed mecha related things, it was why she held so much interest in the Power Rangers and their zords.

"Rangers."

Kit jumped, her father's voice cutting through the air and she wildly looked around. Having made sure that no other students were there, especially that boy who'd been avoiding her since he'd made his racist comment.

"I've made progress since I last checked in," Wakahisa continued, seemingly not at all caring if they were listening or not, "and not only have I completed your zords, but I will send you the shurikens to summon them."

"And here I was wondering why you put three buttons on these shuratos." Joe remarked.

"Why don't you stuff it, perve." Lila sneered over the comm.

"Make me, princess." Joe retorted.

"Enough." Wakahisa said sternly. "Kit, I thought you were handling them?"

Kit blushed, shrinking into herself. "Well, I'm working on it."

"See that you do, a team unable to form cohesion should not be a team at all. Or was I wrong to entrust the safety of this planet to petulant children?" Wakahisa questioned.

"No, sir!" Zara said immediately.

"No." Kit said.

Ann's grunt was her only reply, and both Joe and Lila had the silence of two people stubbornly holding out.

"No." They both grumbled eventually.

"That's what I thought." Wakahisa said.

The connnection cut, and Kit jumped again when on her comic book a shuriken appeared, with the image of her mecha on it. She stared down at it, eyes widening as she poked it. _Oh wow, it looks so cool_.

Kit put her new shuriken away, and she took a notepad out of her backpack. Her father's words got to her, and she knew that she needed to get everyone on the same playing field. She tapped her pen against her cheek. _Now, how to make us a team? There's gotta be something other than tying us all together by the ankles or wrists. Joe and Lila might kill each other if it came to escaping that._

That would be bad, so Kit put the idea under a 'maybe' suggestion.

* * *

Zara was smiing. She smiled a lot, so much it hurt, but that didn't bother her. When it hurt, it just meant her face muscles were getting a work-out. Her legs hurt too, but that was from walking for so long.

She'd put in her resume anywhere she could think, and tried to ignore how some things on her application could only be applied to certain establishments. She'd put in her resume at other diners and fast-food joints, but expanded her search to anything with a hint of customer service-one that wouldn't have _children_ around all the time.

Zara thought of her brand new shuriken to take her mind off that unpleasant reminder. It still hurt to see her puppy, but made her smile wider to know it was going to be put to good use. Too bad it had to be due to a monster attack, how unfortunate.

Blinking, Zara found herself in front of a tailoring store, and thought of how she could put in to man the counter. That made sense, didn't it? Well, she wouldn't know unless she tried. Nodding to herself, Zara made her way inside and rung the cute little bell. She giggled as it tinged, but gasped when a very familiar woman walked out from the back.

"How may I help-" Lila stared back, but closed her eyes and groaned quietly. "How may I help you?"

Zara held up her resume. "I'd like to put in my resume, is that okay?"

Lila's jaw twitched, her right eye ticking. "Of course." she held out her hand, and Zara handed her paper over. "I'll take this to the office. Wait here while I get you an application."

Zara nodded, and began bouncing on her heels as Lila disappeared into the back again. She looked around the shop, taking note of the fabric rolls lining the shelf behind the counter, the glass counter itself and the buttons and zippers on display. There was a large window, and inside were two outfits-one a Halloween costume that looked like it belonged to Red Riding Hood, and the other a tousled Werewolf outfit.

Zara glanced at Lila as she walked in, and pointed to the display window. "Are those for Halloween? Is this to get a leg up on getting orders?"

Lila narrowed her eyes, but nodded. "Ms. Rue noticed how more people rush around in October, and thought advertising earlier in the year would get attention." she handed Zara a formal piece of paper. "Take your time filling it out, and just leave it on the counter when you leave."

"You're not staying?" Zara questioned. Lila frowned. "It's just...I thought we could hang out later? We are on a team afterall."

Lila glanced back into the other room, and she didn't look any happier when she gazed back at Zara. "We're not friends. What don't you get? We're _colleagues_ , nothing more."

Zara pouted. "That's so cold though, don't you wanna have people watch you're back?"

Lila stiffened, her eyes hard. "That's what you're supposed to do anyway."

"Then...will you accept that I just wanna know you?" Zara didn't like how her voice almost cracked, it made her sound less cheerful.

For some reason, the weakness seemed to make Lila unwind, her expression not...softening, but it appeared less severe. "Fine." she grounded out. "My shift ends in half-an-hour, but this still doesn't make us friends." she rushed the latter part out too quickly, and Zara clapped her hands together.

"Sure, okay!" she found a chair, and settled in to fill out the application.

Even if she didn't get the job, the fact she'd get to know Lila was well worth it.

* * *

Joe needed to clear his head, after seeing Kal again on the mid-day news, he couldn't take his parents' questioning looks on why he kept flipping out. He really wished he could tell them, confide in them about the worst night of his life...but everytime he even thought of the what he ate that day made his stomach churn and he felt like he was going to throw up.

He gritted his teeth when he remembered when that monster touched him, how _helpless_ he felt. _I can't feel like that again, I can't get_ scared _like that again-these monsters feed on fear._

Joe's shuriken felt heavy in the pocket in his jacket, but he took solace in the image of the train on the face of the shuriken. And solace in the added fact these monsters couldn't _make_ them scared in the suits, but that was a less comforting thought compared to his train being on hand.

"Joe?"

The young man paused, frowning as he glanced up ahead and saw Kit standing on the corner of a sidewalk. "Yo."

Kit tilted her head. "Hi." she mumbled, so quiet Joe barely heard her. "What are you doing?"

"Walking."

Kit blushed. "Right, but...are you busy?"

"Depends on what you want." Joe found Kit's skittishness irritating. He wanted the side she'd shown before, the one who'd taken charge, but that seemed rarer than a Legendary Pokemon.

"I...I want us to be a team." Kit said, her voice stronger, but she was clearly nervous about talking to him.

Joe pointedly looked around them, noticing quite flatly they were the only ones on the sidewalk. "What team? Did they turn invisible?"

Kit winced. "No, it just seemed better to approach you by yourself-well, it did in my head anyway." she muttered.

Joe crossed his arms. "Then spit it out, grow a spine why don't you?" he couldn't believe he found himself agreeing with something Lila had said, but it was starting to feel so true.

From Kit's slumping shoulders, she likely knew it was true too. But then, her eyes hardened, and he didn't lose _all_ respect he had for her. "I want us to be a team, and we're going to talk about what happened yesterday."

Joe stared at her. He snorted. "Yeah, no."

Kit's jaw dropped. "What? But I stood up for myself!"

"That don't mean nothing if you'll fold like cheap chair." Joe retorted. "Besides, you gotta be used to me undermining you by now."

Kit frowned, but at least she didn't start whining about her being the leader yet. Joe _was_ though a bit surprised when she pulled a notepad from her pocket and began to flip through it. "Um, what do..." she furrowed her brow. "Can I ask what I should do?"

"Did you seriously make notes on being a leader?"

Kit shrugged uncomfortably. "I didn't know what else to do. Other Red Rangers never made it look so hard."

"Probably because they knew if they flopped they didn't deserve the position." Joe retorted.

Kit flinched, but tightened her shoulders. "I offered to trade."

Joe held up his hands. "Hey, I ain't sayin' I'd want your ranger color, just that you need some serious help-and well, I'm not the person you should be asking. Why don't you go talk to your old man?"

Kit slumped down, her face falling. "He doesn't need to be bothered." she shook her head. "What I mean is-I, er, want to get to know you. As a teammate, yeah, leader to teammate."

Joe didn't even need to think about. "Not interested." He didn't turn back to see her incredulous expression, but he did smile when he heard her scampering after him.

She could be determined, he'd give her that much.

* * *

With only a look around the central control room, Foxglove could see how tense his 'generals' were getting. Putting a stop to the arguements before they could start, he picked out a star crystal and shoved it into Antioc's grasp, who looked far more surprised than he had any right to be, but then his mouth twisted up snidely.

"Finally letting me have a turn, huh?"

Foxglove narrowed his eyes, but it was Fallon who spoke instead, harshly reprimanding the ant. "He is the heir apparent now, there will be no questioning his orders."

Antioc grumbled under his breath, and all but shoved both Rhinex and Badgerill out of his way to the power station. The images on the screen slid across several areas that their eye in the sky picked up, and Antioc settled on the skate park, hooking the clamp around his arm. "Reckless brats are gonna get a wake-up call." he chuckled darkly as the crystal began to glow.

Slowly a form began to appear on the screen, a dog-like creature with rings hooked around its limbs and legs that ended in roller skates than feet. It looked around, eyes narrowing as in the few moments it took it to form, skate boarders and roller bladers had noticed it.

And then they started screaming, and the creature laughed.

In the lair, Antioc echoed it as he could feel the fear being absorbed into the monster and being chanelled through him, and finally dripping into the tubes.

Badgerill crossed his arms disgruntled. "He's such a psycho, even for our standards."

"You have standards?" Foxglove questioned, his tone innocent but no one bought it for a second. Except for perhaps Rhinex. "As long as he's getting results, it doesn't matter how unhinged he gets." he did step forward though and clasped Antioc on the shoulder, causing the ant to glance at him. The grip tightened in warning. "Though do make sure Speed Demon is kept from doing anything too...permanent; these humans are no good to us dead."

Antioc scoffed at the words, but reluctantly nodded to the plan. This way made more sense, but his way would have been more fun.

* * *

Lila furrowed her brow as she stepped out from behind the back room. She wasn't surprised to find Zara had taken off, as it would be boring to wait a whole half-hour for someone to get done their work shift. _And it's better this way, then I don't have to worry about caring about any them too much if-_

"You're done, great!"

Lila stiffened up, her eyes widening for a moment as she saw Zara standing outside the tailoring store, in her hands two ice cream cones, one strawberry and one bubblegum. "What-what are you doing here?"

Zara tilted her head, but she was still smiling at her. "I'm sorry I left, but I saw this great ice cream shop down the street." she lifted the cones up. "Didn't know what kind you'd like, so I just took a guess."

Lila stared at her, her mind reeling not only from how far-off those choices were from 'universal' taste, but that Zara had gotten her an ice cream even with how nasty Lila was being. She felt a lump in her throat, and tried to reason that it was just likely just an onset of a cold-in summer, because that was normal, wasn't it? "Thank you."

Zara beamed, and Lila glanced away from her as she walked outside. She took the bubblegum cone, and the other woman began to eat her ice cream cone. "So, I'm actually pretty new here, what kinds of places are there to see?"

"I...don't know much about this city either." Lila said quietly, reluctant to admit it. She expected the standard 'where did you live before' but it was a surprise to find it never came, as Zara only nodded along while they began to make their way down the sidewalk.

"I've never really gotten up the nerve to explore much before now, but looking for a job certainly has changed that." she let out a chipper laugh, high and clear- _too_ cheery in Lila's opinion. How could someone be this happy all the time?

On the one hand, Lila found it irriating, but on the other... Lila shook her head, and caught the curious glance Zara sent her. "It's nothing, just...remembering trying to find a job of my own here too."

"Oh, and what made you want to be a costume designer?"

Lila stopped, her eyes growing cloudy with a far-off look in them. She could remember being asked that once, when she was alone, when she was _supposed_ to be alone... Lila's hand was cold, and Zara's startled shout made her realize in her anger she'd crushed her cone. Genuine remorse washed over her, chasing the rage away. _Zara used her own money to buy this for me._ "I'll pay you back."

Zara blinked, but waved her free hand. "That's not necessary. I bought it for you as an ice breaker, I just want us to get along and I thought this would be the way to do it." she scratched her cheek. "I guess it might not have been such a good idea."

Lila frowned and tossed the cone into the trash bin at the edge of the park they'd wandered next too. She shook the rest of the dessert from her hand, but knew she'd need to wash it off before the bees were attracted by the smell. "It was my fault, I'm always messing everything up."

Zara wagged her finger at her sternly. "Hey, don't be acting like Ann." she the smiled wider. "It's better to just smile and hope everything's okay than frown and be stuck in the past."

Lila narrowed her eyes, some part of her deeply resentful of that remark. _What does_ she _know about being hurt?_ she gritted her teeth to keep herself from following through and saying it. it would likely get Zara to leave her alone, but it would also make her reluctant to help her-Zara was human, no matter how unsettling her constant good mood was.

"Can't you ready a map right? We'd better not be lost!" Zara blinked at the shout while Lila stiffened as another voice retorted back with, "At least I know how to take care of my car!"

"Lets go." Lila muttered, but Zara only stared at her.

"Why? They need help." she replied, and before Lila could stop her, the other woman yelled, "Hey, are you lost? Do you need some help?"

Lila grounded her teeth as the clattring of shoes on grass got closer, and she ignored the feel of one hand being uncomfortably sticky as her fists clenched.

"Yes, we're lost." The relieved voice of the redhead, Marie, said.

"Can you like, help us out?" The brunette, Layla, asked.

"Sure, I'll do my best to help!" Zara chirped. "Where are you headed?"

"Well, we're trying to find the local Baskin Robbins, but we kinda got mixed up-I think." The blonde, Patty, replied.

"Oh! It's just from the direction we came in!" Zara said excitedly, and a chill ran down Lila's spin as she could feel three gazes settle on her.

"No way, what are the odds we'd run into you out here?" Layla asked, her tone too sweet and curiously.

"And on a date no less!" Patty added, laughing as though it were some big joke.

Lila looked up at that, but wished she hadn't when Marie smirked snidely, her words cutting right through all of Lila's defenses.

"I guess you're not as traumatized as you said you were."

"You bitch!" Lila snarled. She tried to lung forward, but a heavy grip on her shoulder made her jerk back and glared at Zara, the instinctual need to shrug her off overtaken when her eyes widened as she saw that for once Zara wasn't smiling, didn't look happy-her face was _stone cold_.

"I can't help you after all," she said evenly to the three out-of-towners, "not when you can so rudely belittle my friend like that." Her grip didn't lessen until well after they lost sight of the three women.

Lila pulled her arm out of Zara's hand, feeling even more wary of her. "What the hell was that about?"

Zara blinked, looking as though she hadn't just acted like a completely different person. "They clearly upset you, and I know we're not friends but," she bit her lip, glancing away shyly, "I'd like us to be."

It was similar to the thing Zara said earlier, but this time, Lila had a more genuine reply. "Don't mention this to the others and...we'll see how this 'friends' thing goes, okay?"

Zara slowly beamed at her, and for the first time in a long while, Lila felt her lips tug up into a smile also.

* * *

The television is on, but Ann is barely paying any mind to it. She'd been watching a nature documentary, but at some point it all just became static to her. She tried to make sense of the images on the screen, but was constantly reminding herself not to stare at the wall again. It made her think harder, and led to some nasty thoughts that did not end well last time.

She was so zoned out that she flinched at the sudden ringing of her telephone. She glanced at it, but didn't bother to move. Ann flinched again when the answering machine clicked on. It was her father calling to berate her like she thought.

"Ann, yesterday Mrs. Barlow called. She said you were rude to her when she asked you a question." Her father _sounded_ calm and understanding, but Ann waited for it to change. "I know you wouldn't fly off the handle so suddenly, and I realize there's only one thing that _could_ get you to react that badly. I...I wish you'd talk to us, but I'm proud that you're talking to someone, your therapist at the very least. Maybe...maybe you'll even be ready to come visit us sometime. I love you, Ann."

Ann felt her fists clench on her knees, her back straight and her form tense. He probably really was mad, just hiding it-Ann was so sure of it. She'd messed up after all, why wouldn't she get yelled at? It was like trying to kid herself that Kit actually cared about her team.

Wincing, Ann stopped herself from going too far into her cynical thoughts when it started to remind her of _that_ mindset.

A knock at the door drew her attention, and Ann tensed further when her sister's voice sounded just outside. "Ann? I know you're home. Please, just let me see you. Mom and Dad said I shouldn't come here, but I'm worried about you."

Ann slowly pulled her knees to her chest, burying her head into her folded arms. She didn't answer back.

"Even when you came for your toy you wouldn't let me see you." Mavis said sadly. "I was there with you too, that night." Ann started shaking. "I...I got better, and I know you can too!" she reassured her, but Ann began rocking back and forth. "Open the door, _please_. Just let me in, I want to help you. I always did."

Ann gritted her teeth, her eyes stinging as she could feel tears pricking at the corners. She wanted Mavis to leave, to not be a constant reminder of that time, to not try and _remind her_ of that night. Didn't she get that it wasn't working?

Mavis didn't say anything for a while, and when she did, her voice was low and cracking. "I-I just want things to be the way they were."

Ann waited for her footsteps to leave before she let the tears finally fall.


	6. Episode 6: Forging Our Ties Part 2

**Episode 6: Forging Our Ties Part 2**

* * *

Foxglove was grudging to give out any praise, especially to one of his 'generals', but he was _slightly_ impressed with how many containers had been filled. Antioc's deranged chuckling as Speed Demon ran wild was a small headache to pay for. "I'm going to need help carrying these. Rhinex, come."

The rhino straightened up, moving into a half-salute before he just gave up and frowned. "Sir, there is something I wanted to ask you."

Foxglove tapped his fingers on his leg, though the sleeve that fell over his hand shielded it. "What?"

"When can I go out and take care of those Rangers?" Rhinex cracked his knuckles for emphasis and Foxglove grimaced.

Badgerill tensed up, a scowl on his face. "You're not actually thinking of letting _him_ go out there, are you? He's barely got a brain between those ears-the Rangers would just need him to look away and they'd take him out!"

Rhinex growled and geared up to charge at the badger. "I'll show you who's brainless!"

"I'm amazed you can even say that!" Badgerill snapped.

Fallon swiftly got between the two of them, hands held out and his expression severe. "I know we're all feeling on edge from being cooped up underground," he looked at both of them, and sent a pointed glance at Antioc as the creature ignored them, his laughs having turned into cackling, "some more affected than others-but while I will tolerate arguing, we can't afford to let it come to physical blows. The Rangers will have already won, and I do not want to lose to them a _second_ time...do you?" he added harshly.

Rhinex scowled, but muttered "No" under his breath. Badgerill frowned deeply, and glared at the wall, saying nothing. Fallon gave them both a warning glare, but glanced up when Foxglove clapped, slow and sarcastic.

"How impressive," he drawled, "that you can control them after all. Here I was beginning to wonder if you were just their point leader by luck."

Badgerill turned his glare on the fox. "He's a better leader than _you_ are!"

Foxglove stared at him, the brief show of emotion wiped clean. "Watch what you say, for I will be your king, and I will not forget those words."

Badgerill sneered at him, but Fallon gave the badger a sharp glare.

Foxglove narrowed his eyes, taking careful note before picking up several tubes. "Rhinex." he called once more, and this time the rhino followed without question.

Now only if that wretched badger could do the same.

* * *

Ann leaned against the sink, splashing water onto her face. She looked into the mirror, and sighed as she saw the puffiness around her eyes go down, and the tear tracks washed away from her dark brown skin. She wiped her hands on her yellow sweater as she made her way out of the bathroom, thoughts whirling.

She couldn't believe Mavis actually came around. How did her sister even know where she lived? Did-did she care to ask? Something inside Ann shifted uncomfortably; was it guilt? It sounded...not unpleasant to see Mavis, but she just couldn't do it. Beneath the apathy, beneath how uncaring she was...Ann wanted to be the way she was before.

It was so hard though, why it was difficult to even make herself remember the memory from her truck?

Ann wiped her forehead, her eye catching the yellow shuriken lying on kitchen table. She closed her eyes. _...Joy, that's what it was like back then. That's...what I want._ She felt hollowness follow; that's right, saying she wanted it wasn't helping much.

And to get that, she'd have to _say_ why. Ann grimaced; no, she couldn't bring herself to do that.

Not yet. Not when telling anyone would mean them thinking she was...was...

"Rangers," Ann glanced down at her watch, "there has been another monster attack, prepare for teleportation."

* * *

"...and I like cute animals!" Zara gushed.

Lila blinked as she wiped her hand off, tossing the paper towl into the trash. At least she didn't any of the ice cream on her blue plaid shirt. "Didn't you say that before at the first group session?"

Zara furrowed her brow. She rubbed her chin, and her eyes lit up. "Oh yeah," she smiled brightly, "it's so nice that you remembered!"

Lila frowned and stared at the ground. "Well, it's not something you just forget." she shrugged. "I've always been good with details."

"Is that why you like working in a tailoring store? Do you get to do fittings or that other sewing stuff?"

Lila's eye twitched. "It's not just 'sewing stuff'." she muttered. When Zara tilt her head, Lila glared at the ground this time. "It takes years to get it right."

"Then you must be good at it." Zara said blithely.

Lila stiffened. Her fists clenched, eyes shutting tightly. She inhaled deeply, and when she slowly opened her eyes, she jerked back.

Zara leaned in close, concern written on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Personal space." Lila hissed.

The other young woman blinked as she stepped back. Nervously, Zara scratched the back of her neck, before coughing as she adjusted the white headband holding her bangs back. "Sorry, I didn't mean too."

Lila's narrowed her eyes. Just because she was- and Lila would deny it if asked- actually finding Zara's chipperness _tolerable_ didn't mean she wanted her to get closer than needed. "Don't do it again."

Zara was about to speak, but a voice caused them to glance at their watches.

"Rangers..."

* * *

Kit had started to feel pathetic about the time when Joe actually stopped to let her rest. She sat on the bus bench, and couldn't look up to face him. Some leader she was. "What would make you listen?"

Joe blew out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. "You want to _make_ us listen?"

Kit frowned. 'Make'...it didn't sound much like a good word right now. She flipped through her notes, browsing the idea page. "Okay, _how_ would I get you to listen?"

"I already told you." Joe retorted, and he put the rest of his pack back into the pocket of his bomber jacket.

"But standing up for myself didn't work." Kit muttered, and flushed when he looked down at her. She fiddled with the hem of her red jacket.

"And you're just gonna give up? You think there's not going to be times when we think you're not doing a good job? That we'll think you're not a crap leader?" he pressed.

Kit shrank in her seat, feeling smaller than ever. Yes, she was terrified of everything he said. Had those moments of growing a spine been just a fluke? Did she really deserve to be the Red Ranger? She was brave once, but didn't feel much like it now. "I don't know-I-I don't know anything."

Joe let out a ragged sigh. He dropped his cigarette and crushed it under his boot. "'Do or do not, there is no try.' I've taken that advice-screwed me over in a big way, but it also got me to go to these therapy sessions. Go home, and just think of tomorrow as a do-over."

Kit blinked slowly, and watched as he began to walk away. She felt a small smile curl her lips at the corner. "You know," she called after him, "I don't think you're so bad after all."

Joe stopped, and he glanced back at her. He snorted. "Don't tell the others that, 'specially the princess."

"Rangers..." Wakahisa's voice doubled over due to both of them being near each other. "...prepare for teleportation."

Kit breathed in deep, and her gut twisted before she opened her eyes. "Ah!" she yelped and landed on her backside. She grimaced when she noticed the other four rangers staring at her. Kit blushed and wanted to run away, every fiber of her tense. "U-um, uh-"

Screams rang out, with louder laughter mixing in.

Kit clenched her fist, and summoned her shurato. "It's morphing time!" she ordered, and her heart sped up when the others followed suit. "Shuriken Force, Ninja Source!" she shouted, but didn't hear the echo of anyone else joining in, and it disheartened her even as the suit projected over her.

Using muscles she hadn't put to use in months, Kit pointed her sword skyward before doing a spinning back jump, landing in a three-point landing with her shurato gripped behind her. "Growing With Confidence, Shuriken Red!"

The silence was defeaning, as even the chaos of the unseen monster attack was...quiet in utter confusion.

"What the hell was that?" Lila asked bluntly.

Kit winced as her ribs ached faintly. She hoped soon the pain would be completely gone. "It was our roll call, every Power Ranger team has one-I made a note about it. Now it's your turn!"

"No." Lila snapped.

"Not a chance." Joe crossed his arms.

Ann just shook her head silently.

Kit looked to her last hope, but Zara's helmet was pointed at the ground, and her voice was surprisingly absent. "Zara?"

"You're putting effort into this, which is nice, but...doing a roll call is just... _silly_." Zara rubbed her arm. "No offence."

"But-but-" Kit tried to rebuttle, but Lila cut her off.

"Look, there's a bigger problem here than your insistence on being a team." she pointed towards the area where the screams came from. "Remember there's a monster attack going on?"

"O-oh." Kit whispered, and nodded sharply. "Yeah, we'd better-" the others all took off, leaving her in the dust-"go." she sighed and hurried after them. When she caught up, her breath got caught in her throat.

A bizarre reddish-yellow creature that looked like a dog crossed with many rings fused on its top while the feet were in-line skates. While Speed Demon was a sight itself, Kit's eyes were glued to the skate boarders and roller-bladers who were throwing themselves on ramps and doing dangerous stunts while around their necks or wrists were the same rings Speed Demon possessed.

The screaming picked up, the monster chuckling as it surveyed the people, and Kit shook.

"Hey!" she shouted, and the creature glanced up at her. "Let them go!"

He turned around and crossed his arms. "Oh, and why would I do that?" He had a rough way of talking, and Kit was struck by how while he _talked_ like a punk, Joe looked the part. "I'm givin' these chumps what they wanted, ain't that right?" he asked at large, and a chorus of "No, no, no"s followed, but he laughed again. "They wanted to be bad, so I gave them that! It ain't my fault they got no guts."

"I've heard enough of this." Lila hissed. She gripped her sword tight. "I can't get _this_ punk," she jerked her head at Joe, "but _you're_ not off limits!"

"No, wait!" Kit shouted, but Lila charged forward anyway. "Why won't you listen to me?!" she cringed in on herself, immediately hating herself for how whiny she sounded. Fear clouded her mind. _What if I can't do this? What if I come off as too whiny? How can I be enough to lead them?_

Speed Demon blocked Lila's strike, and looked up at Kit, breathing in deep as he soaked in what fear leaked through her suit. "Now that's a meal."

Lila's eyes widened, and she glanced back at where Kit was standing stock still. Disgust she reserved for Joe flared to the surface as she kicked at Speed Demon. "Stay away from her!" she snarled and glared when the Hoaxer slid away from her.

Speed Demon laughed and waved his hands, with all the civilians freezing. "You might not be scared now, but you _will be_." he flared his arms, and the civilians began moving around jerkily, and began to punch and kick at _each other_. "Come at me, _bro."_

Lila scowled and charged at him again.

From her spot, Kit looked between the fight between Lila and the Hoaxer and the unwilling fights of the civilians- she braced herself as she made her choice. "We need to help the civilians; Lila's holding her own so far."

"What? Are you sure?" Zara asked worriedly.

Kit nodded. "The sooner we get those rings off the people the sooner we can take the monster down."

"Or _you_ three can help the civs but _we_ can take the monster out." Joe retorted, and broke into a run towards Lila and Speed Demon.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kit grumbled, and glanced at Ann and Zara. "Are you going to run off too?"

"What would be the point?" Ann questioned flatly.

Zara shook her head. "Lila and Joe can have their grudge match, but the civilians need help too."

Kit's chest unwound, and with a glance at Joe taking a swing at Speed Demon, who immediately skated out of the way, Kit hurried towards the civilians. It made her more relieved than it should have that _someone_ was listening to her. She could try better with Joe and Lila later. _Sorry, Joe, but sometimes there is a 'try' option._

While the wayward Rangers tried and failed to pin Speed Demon, the other three Rangers each grabbed a civilian to prevent them from attacking each other.

"Help, please!" A skate boarder said, eyes wide as his limbs shook. "I-I can't stop myself!"

"Relax, things will be fine." Zara said cheerfully as she grabbed the ring, but the skater didn't look reassured. She saw the roller-blader that the skater had been about to punch lunge forward, and Zara shot out her other hand and slid her fingers around their own ring.

She gripped both, and jerked them forward roughly. The rings shattered from the force and the skaters both stumbled, letting Zara check them over before nodding to herself, and hurrying off to another pair.

Several feet away, Ann simply stepped between two roller-skaters and held their heads as the two tried and failed to kick or punch the other. Ann blinked slowly behind her visor, and breathed in deeply. She might as well give this a try.

Ann gently pushed the skater on her right away, and grabbed the ring around their neck before jerking back and the ring broke into pieces. The skater blinked as she fell onto her backside, and Ann grabbed the ring around the other skater's forehead and slid it off. She gripped the ring firmly, and snapped it in two. _Well, one down-I guess._

With Kit, she had trouble with getting her civilian pair from attacking each other. She wasn't as tall as Ann, nor had Zara's strength. The most she could do was drag one of the 'combatants' out of the way of the other, always reaching for the ring around their wrist but her short arms missed.

 _I'm the Red Ranger, I'm supposed to be good at this._ Naive, sure, but it was all that kept Kit's head on straight, to keep the insecurites at bay. Her confidence had been broken, into tiny pieces isolation had caused her. Kit's chest tightened, and she did her best to banish those traitorous anxieties. _I have enough worries, I can't have more!_

With a surge of impulsivity, Kit lunged forward between the two civilians. A stray punch caught her in the shoulder, the suit taking the brunt of it, but Kit still felt the jab into her flesh. The other kicked her in the leg, but the suit did not protect her from rememberingt the _pain-hurt-why_ and Kit sucked in a sharp breath.

Her fingers caught the ring on the man's wrist, and she pulled it harshly enough to scratch his skin. He yelped as he fell onto the grass, and remorse instantly flooded through Kit, but she had no time to apologize as the other 'combatant' tried to lunge over her shoulder for the man. Kit grabbed the woman's wrist and pushed her back, grabbing the ring and ripping it off.

Kit threw both rings onto the floor, satisfaction brief as they shattered. She braced herself, and went to continue helping Zara and Ann with the rest of the civilians.

* * *

"Hold still so I can stab you!" Lila was already frustrated with how Speed Demon kept dodging her strikes, but what infuriated her even more was that Joe was just as useless. "Come on," she snapped at the other ranger, "put your back into it."

Joe looked at her, she could practically see his scowl. "Why don't you shove it- better yet, why don't you take your own advice?"

Speed Demon let out a harsh laugh. "Look at ya two, both of yous are scraping with each other there's no point in continuin'. I'd have better luck with that little red one, least I'd get what I'd came here for."

Lila's head snapped up, Joe insignifcant compared to the threat before her leader. "You won't touch her." she hissed, but hated how a shred of fear accompanied it. She drowned it in her anger, hand clenched tight around her sword handle. _You can't afford to be scared again, this you doesn't get scared._

Lila lunged forward, but when Speed Demon turned left, she brought her shurato in the opposite direction-catching him on the arm. The creature ducked back, but it looked down at the cut along its arm. It wasn't bleeding, but Lila wasn't sure why she still got surprised. _They're not even real, of course they wouldn't bleed._

Speed Demon still glared at her like he was though. "That's how its gonna be, huh? Fine, you two are no fun anyway."

"Time for you to shut up!" Lila snapped, and she charged forward again. Speed Demon didn't move, but Lila realized too late why that was. Her eyes widened as he grabbed her blade, the edge cutting into his hand, but what made her feel like a fool was seeing his other hand holding a new ring. _Where did-?_ Lila froze as the ring snapped onto her wrist, and her body began to loosen it's hold against Speed Demon against her will.

From his vantage point, Joe couldn't believe what just happened. _Damn it-_ Joe lifted up his watch. "Wakahisa! A litle help would be nice." he gritted his teeth when no reply came. "This is not the time to go all 'learn on your own'!" he snapped, but a yellow slash coming at him caused Joe to reflexively lift his own blade to block Lila's strike. "Can't you fight it?"

"That's what I'm trying to do, you idiot!" Lila yelled back.

"Obviously you're not," Joe retorted, "or do you secretly always want to take a swing at me?"

"Of course I do, but with not with my sword!" Lila snapped.

"Oh, how considerate of you." Joe said snidely, and Lila scowled at him, but due to the visor he couldn't see it.

What he _did_ see was Speed Demon cackling in the background. "I'll leave ya too it, don't matter which one of yous survives-just as long as one yous is dead."

Joe gritted his teeth, but he only got a step towards the monster before Lila tried to take a swing at his neck. He brought his sword up to block her. _Crap, how am I supposed to get that ring without hurting her?_

* * *

"Up, come on," Zara pulled a skater to their feet, ushering them to the edge of the park, "get out of here."

Kit looked around, but she couldn't be sure they'd missed anyone. "Did we get all the rings?"

"Looks like, but not sure." Ann said drolly.

Zara nodded enthusiastically. "We sure did! And all the people are gone too so that monster can't make them hurt each other anymore."

Kit sighed in relief, but the sound of clashing blades caught her attention. Her heart dropped when she spotted across the park Lila and Joe trying to take a swing at each other. _Not now, why-_ her eyes widened as she noticed the glowing ring on Lila's wrist. "Oh no, the Hoaxer got Lila."

"What?" Zara demanded, her visor looking in the direction of the two clashing rangers.

"The monster isn't there," Ann said, "it probably left in the confusion."

Kit nodded. "We can find it after, but first we need to get that ring off her. Any ideas?"

"It seems quite obvious; we tackle her and get the ring off." Ann said flatly. Kit and Zara stared at her, and she tensed minutely. "There's no time for elaborate plans-save that for the monster."

"It's just-" _You're invested,_ but Kit kept that to herself. She wasn't about to jinx whatever was making Ann pitch in. "Sure, lets do it. We can't give Lila a chance to see us. On three?"

Zara's shoulder twitched. "On _now_." she hauled both Ann and Kit up by their arms. "Let's go!"

Kit wanted to reprimand her, but Zara had already taken off. _At least she waited this long before ditching me._ She ran after the older girl, and Ann ran after them. Their steps crackled the gravel beneath them, like a stampede in Kit's ears.

It wasn't a surprise that both Joe and Lila looked up. Lila broke her stance with him, her sword at the ready for them. Joe shot forward and grappled with Lila, wrenching the blade from her hands and both shuratos clattered to the ground.

Once in reach, Kit, Ann and Zara jumped at Lila in time for Joe to duck back. Red and Yellow dogpiled on Lila while Zara landed on Blue's legs. Kit reached under her to bring up Lila's struggling arm, the ring gleaming in the light.

"Now, get the ring!" she yelled, wincing as Lila jerked her arm back.

Unbeknown to the rangers at a whole, Lila's stomach rolled as her eyes widened. Her breath picked up, and a wave of fear broiled up inside her. _No, no, this is not like that-they're just helping me-_ It didn't work, and the struggle to get out of the hold became real. "Get off me!"

Elsewhere, for a brief moment, Speed Demon stopped and paused. He blinked, and turned back around. His eyes narrowed as he realized it came from the rangers, but compulsion dictated he gather as much as possible. With that in mind, Speed Demon made his way back to the park.

With the rangers, Joe tensed, his chest tightening as the yelling echoed in his mind. A memory that replied every night came over him, and he shook his head violently. _No, get a hold of yourself!_ Joe gripped the ring on Lila's wrist, and wrenched it off. He tossed it at the ground, and watched in satisfaction as it shattered.

Lila still struggled though, and with her body back under her own control she snarled and shoved at Kit and Ann. "Off, now!" A rush of relief flooded through her as the three rangers removed themselves and Lila scrambled to her feet. " _Never_ do that again."

"What is this? Where's the fear?"

Kit looked up as Speed Demon came into view, stopping short as his head jerked around to look at each of them, his eyes narrowing. Kit gritted her teeth as she got up, and pointed her sword at him. "You did this-you're not getting away a second time!"

The Hoaxer laughed at her, doubling over and Kit flushed in embarrassment. She glanced at her teammates, but furrowed her brow as she found Ann had disappeared; a moment of despair hit her. "Big talk, shorty. You're all too slow." he chuckled, and gestured at himself. "Well? Bring it!"

A blur of yellow came around Speed Demon's back, and a boot slammed into his legs. The Hoaxer was dropped onto his front, and Ann jumped onto his back. "You talk too much." she said, and slammed the blade of her sword into the blade of Speed Demon's skate, and _pulled-_ the metal skate snapped and Speed Demon roared as he reached for Ann, but she jumped off his back.

"How'd you do that?" Zara asked Ann, surprised by her proactivity.

Ann frowned behind her visor. "Like I said, he talked too much-it was easy to sneak up on him."

The Hoaxer growled as he stumbled to his feet, glaring at her fiercely. "You-you-"

"Get him!" Lila yelled and scooped up her shurato.

Kit gritted her teeth, but when Speed Demon faltered as he looked down at his broken skate, she realized they wouldn't have a better chance. "Let's finish this!" she pushed down on the blue button and her blade glowed. "Rainbow Strike!"

As one, the five of them charged until they were but blurs of color, each slash causing a crack to appear on the Hoaxer and jumped into the sky. When they came back down, Speed Demon held still-his whole body full of cracks and in an explosion of light, he shattered.

Kit breathed hard, relief coursing through her. "We saved the people, and beat the bad guy," she held her communicator up, "okay, dad, we can-"

"You lived, how disappointing."

All five rangers froze, their attention turning to the figure standing on a tree branch. It was a humanoid form, with yellow fur and two pointed ears a top its head, with a white mask over its face and wearing elaborate clothing with its arms behind its back.

 _A...fox,_ Kit's eyes widened as her father's words came back to her, and she glared up at it. "You're behind all of this, aren't you?"

"Yes," the fox shrugged nonchalantly, "nothing personal-I guess. You have your mission, I have mine."

"Except ours doesn't involve hurting people." Joe snapped.

The fox tilted his head. "Maybe so, but you have such a apt saying; breaking eggs and all that." he lowered his head, his unnerving yellow eyes staring intently at them. "I'll give the chance to give up, and forget about all of this nonsense. If you don't, well, you'll all be just another obstacle in my way to eliminate."

Kit tensed up; it had never escaped her that this was a dangerous job, but hearing it in such blatant terms he would _kill_ them... She gripped her shurato's handle tighter. "You can try all you want, but we _will_ stop you!"

The fox blinked once, and an unsettling smile curled his lips into a grin full of sharp teeth. It didn't reach his eyes. "Then there is nothing more to discuss." his arms moved to his front, and Kit stared at he raised a mallet which had a star attached to the handle.

"It looks like a morpher." Ann muttered.

"Consider this farewell, rangers." The fox held it at them, and the star began spinning as crackles of electricity began to form. "I will _not_ miss you."

The five rangers all tensed as a shot of electicity came at them, but surprise and disbelief set in when it flew _over_ their heads.

"You missed!" Lila sneered, but the fox was still grinning.

"Do-do you hear that?" Kit frowned at Zara's tentative enquire, but her eyes widened as she whirled around.

"Oh no." she whispered. The shards on the ground from the Hoaxer were sparking, and before her eyes the pieces all began to converge together. "Oh no, oh no!"

Joe stared at the growing mass of crystal, his eyes wide as it formed into a giant Speed Demon. "Well shit."

Kit looked over her shoulder, but the fox was gone. "I guess this is our zords debut."

"Yippe." Ann said flatly.

"Le's get this show on the road!" Zara yelled, and she presed down on the yellow button of her shurato.

The others followed suit, and one by one they appeared in a cockpit of their personal zord.

Joe found himself strapped into a chair of his train, and a large windshield in front of him. He found a steering wheel, and grinned. "Now I just my conductor's hat. Huh, Trail-Mix"

Lila blinked, as one moment she was on the ground and now found herself situated on top of a western-style dragon, a cushioned seat keeping her from gaining sores, and she grabbed the two protrusions in front of her. "This is highly impractical." she paused though as the situation set in. "I don't believe it, I'm actually living my dream." she tited her head, and knocked her foot gently against the head. "Okay, let's go protect our kingdom, Dragoon"

Ann gritted her teeth as she dizzily found herself behind the wheel of a giant yellow dump truck. She stared blankly down at the steering wheel moving on its own. She looked around the cabin, and breathed in deeply. "Okay, you're okay. We're okay, Sand Truck"

Zara furrowed her brow as she found herself in the dark. A bright light caused her to shield her eyes, and saw the city moving below them. "Whoa," she felt the rail stop her, and she looked down to see herself in a box with two handle bars at the front, "awesome!" She grinned, both sad and exhilarated by not only her puppy zord, but the fact Joe's zord was transporting it. "This is so cool, Puppup."

Kit opened her eyes cautiously. Her eyes slowly widened as she found herself standing on a platform while in front of her was a screen showing the outside city. Kit's heart leap into her throat, and she grinned. "I'm in a Gundam!"

The five zords converged on Speed Demon's location, but as the dump truck attempted to ram into him, he sped out of the way.

Ann narrowed her eyes. "It would seem he's still as fast now as then."

"Yeah." Zara replied, but as one they all froze. She looked around the compartment, but found no communicator. "Okay, how are we talking to each other?"

"Maybe Wakahisa added it or something," Lila said, and sneered, "also, Trail-Mix?"

Joe scowled. "Shove it."

"I think it's cute." Zara cut in. "Just like Kit naming hers Gundam."

Kit flushed. "That's not-oh forget it." she muttered. "Ideas, we need ideas. I think 'jump and tackle' is going to be more dangerous for people than it was before."

"We need to take out its feet again." Ann said.

Lila narrowed her eyes. "Get Speed Demon in front of me, we'll take care of the rest."

"And why should we believe you?" Joe questioned snidely.

"I've got a damn dragon," Lila hissed, "we're going to roast this bastard!"

Joe blinked, but found ihmself actually liking Lila's suggestion. "Okay, I'm in-but this doesn't make us friends."

Lila scoffed. "Me neither."

"Okay," Kit cut off the argument before it began, "anyone got something that can hit Speed Demon without getting the buildings?"

"You've got the robot, doesn't that come with nifty gadgets?" Zara asked.

Kit bit her lip, and blinked as she remembered on her toy that on its back was a ninjato. "Yes," she said quietly, "take its attention and I'll sneak up on it."

"If it's anything like Joe it would probably fall for it twice." Lila said, and Joe growled.

"Zara, you take the left, I'll take the right," Ann said, "Joe, hit it from the front. Kit, slash his legs when he tries to turn back."

Kit bit her lip, shame rising in her chest as she realized Ann was doing a better job at issuing orders than her. "O-okay." she was supposed to lead.

She pushed that out of her mind, and her zord got into place as Speed Demon zoomed to the left to avoid the puppy zord which dropped out of Joe's train. The Hoaxer banked right to avoid the dump truck from ramming into it, but swerved to avoid the puppy jumping at him. Kit tensed her shoulders as her mecha lagged behind Speed Demon, the zord lowering itself as to be level with the monster's skates as Joe's zord came around the bend to ram his front.

Kit's zord swung its blade the moment Speed Demon turned around, and caught his skate as he backtracked. "Yes!" she hissed when the skate broke under the pressure. Her zord pulled away, and she was amazed to find Lila's had managed to get behind her to take the final shot. _It_ is _a dragon, it can fly._

Lila grinned as the Hoaxer's eyes widened, and she felt her dragon tensing up. "This...is for the ring!"

Her dragon roared, and fire spewed from its mouth-catching Speed Demon front and center, engulfing his body in the flames. The Hoaxer's body tensed up-and in a flash of light it's body exploded into a million pieces.

The five rangers all stared at the spot where Speed Demon once stood. No one said a thing, and per his usual tact, Joe broke it with a single snarky comment.

"Well, that was a thing."


End file.
